The upcoming AI tide dal waves are beginning to clash with Australia's public sector, with the South Australian government unveiling a new $28 million program to incorporate the technological revolution into police, healthcare, finances and law.
Treasurer Stephen Mulligan made a surprising allocation to the state's 2025-26 budget, designed to “maximise profits and encourage increased use of AI applications across the South Australian public sector.”
Budget measures argue that the program will first prioritize policing and healthcare with a set of “proof of value trials.”
“Through targeting proof of value testing in priority areas such as healthcare and policing, this fund will provide support for a wide range of applications across the government, allowing the development of multiple use cases with reliable underlying technology that are appropriate for governance and integrity to the investment principles of digital investment funds,” the document states.
“The health sector is a priority for funding considerations. Global evidence shows that integrating AI into specific areas of healthcare can reduce costs, improve operational efficiencies, and that health professionals can spend more time in clinical care.”
In policing, the program aims to increase efficiency and safety for its executives.
“Using AI, we support real-time decision-making, effectively allocate resources, increase executive and public safety, reduce the management burden on executives, and free up time for more value-added work,” the document says.
“Other areas where we are considering prioritization funding may include the health, social work, legal and financial sectors of the public sector.”
Located within the government's broader digital investment fund, the program is funded from 2025-26 to 2028-29 with annual operating costs of $4.6 million and annual investment costs of $2.4 million.
It is expected to create five new, continuous full-time jobs during the period.
Dr. Kathy Nicholson, manager of the Australian Institute of Machine Learning, said the government's push for AI is not about replacing civil servants.
“The real purpose of this program is to expand and adopt AI into government services,” she said.
“We all know that everyone is overworked. There are so many iterative processes in so many jobs and fields, and the intent of this funding is the first example to look into some of those issues in the healthcare, policing and government sectors and explore how AI systems can be tested to generate efficiency.
“My understanding is that they do this slowly and in a systematic way to make sure there are good guardrails.”
Dr. Nicholson said that without AI efficiency, government budgets could be “blown away.”
“Everyone will have to learn how to use AI to make their work more efficient, whether they're civil servants or non-civil servants,” she said.
“It's everything, it's about creating tools so that everyone can use them, and bringing public services on the journey that's going on.
“If they don't adopt it in public services, what we're trying to see is going to blow out on the budget.”
Nationally, several jurisdictions tackle AI promises and dangers.
In February of this year, Queensland intelligence commissioner Joanne Cummulro warned that taking the “watch-and-see” approach to AI would result in the public sector being “lagged behind in understanding and being responsible for its capabilities and challenges.”
“While AI shows its promise as a powerful tool that can provide improved public services, agents need to take the 'right path' by ensuring ethical and transparent use, rather than taking 'fast lanes' without just taking the necessary guardrails and citizens' personal information protection,” she posted on the Information Committee's website.
Meanwhile, the NSW government raised more than $2.7 million in grants to 16 councils in mid-2024 to bring AI in local planning systems to court.
The exam was designed to “improve the development application process for all users, including homeowners, councils and developers.”
Outside of the government, South Australia will deploy AI to develop a complete picture of mineral wealth. It focuses on copper production at the huge Girler Cratons spread across the central part of the state.
