Call for greater incentives for the development and deployment of Australian-made AI
Whether your goal is to increase productivity or create domain-specific AI models, this plan presents opportunities for businesses of all sizes.
All large companies have bespoke datasets and practices specific to them, Walker says, which can present opportunities to develop AI tools to enhance their operations. “By promoting sovereign AI, large companies can create a virtuous cycle that benefits small businesses in the ecosystem, supports the Australian economy and supports Australia’s security.”
The plan underlines the government’s determination to provide the infrastructure and land-based computing resources for Australian businesses to deploy and scale AI.
“What Australian organizations are missing is the incentive to create their own AI and buy locally developed solutions rather than buying off-the-shelf AI,” said Dr Sue Kee, Director of the UNSW AI Institute and Chair of Peak Body’s Robotics Australia Group.
“From a national security perspective, why should we rely on other countries’ frontier models in critical industries?”
While Australia has well-documented domain-specific frontrunners, such as diagnostic radiology company Harrison.ai (cited in the report) and several other groups currently working on large-scale language models, Mr Key believes Australia’s national AI plan largely leaves the business community to find ways to seize the AI opportunity for themselves.
“Unlike Big 4 accounting firms, small businesses don’t have the resources to invest in AI development. Even finding the time to experiment and implement AI can be difficult for small businesses.”
“The feedback we hear from companies with fewer than 200 employees is that they don’t know where to start with AI, and their plans don’t show them how to seize the opportunity,” she says.
Why some small businesses have a hard time navigating the national AI opportunity
Start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises can benefit from increased domestic investment, whether in developing new AI models or applying them in their day-to-day operations.
William Young A big plus for the FCPA is that the new plan clearly takes responsibility for AI out of the IT department and puts it on the top-down agenda of companies, from board level to business units and individuals. On the other hand, he says there is scope to strengthen support for AI adoption in small and medium-sized enterprises.
As co-founder of Praxio AI, Mr Young launched an AI assistant to research and draft client documents for Australian tax professionals in August 2025, and is interviewing with a number of small accountancy practices.
Companies with younger CEOs and partners are more likely to be experimenting with AI in their operations, he said, but “SMEs and smaller companies need more support.” Upskilling and training talent in AI is a key starting point, Young says.
“Unlike the big four accounting firms, small and medium-sized firms do not have the resources to invest in AI development,” he added. “Even finding the time to experiment and implement AI can be difficult for small businesses.”
For Mr Young and his business partners, Australia’s lack of AI skills may have been a stumbling block during the early development stages of their business. Instead, they worked on the AI model with developers in two different offshore locations. “We couldn’t find anyone to help us in Australia,” he recalls.
On the development side, Young notes that more localized AI products are needed across industries to meet the needs of Australian businesses and grow the economy.
And time is running out. For Australia to achieve that goal, young suggests the rapid evolution of AI needs to be factored into future plans. “Technology is changing rapidly and requires ongoing consultation with government and industry.”
