In October, the New Zealand Government announced it plans to scope an AI strategy for New Zealand and create responsible AI guidance for businesses. Until this guidance is published, local industry-led guidance and international standards have proven useful resources for informing responsible AI practices in New Zealand.
The Australian Government has recently released several publications and a toolkit as part of its strategy to support responsible AI practices in Australia. These form part of the growing body of international guidance that New Zealand organisations can draw on to help them support, measure and report on 'responsible AI' use.
10 proposed Mandatory guardrails
In September 2024, the Australian Government released a proposal paper for the introduction of mandatory guardrails to mitigate risks arising from the use of AI in in high-risk settings. The paper suggests a principle-based approach for determining high-risk AI settings and proposes the introduction of 10 mandatory guardrails to apply across the AI supply chain and throughout the AI lifecycle.
Consultation on the proposal paper closed on 4 October 2024, and over 300 submissions were received from a wide range of stakeholders. The Australian Government published over 275 of the submissions but has not yet released a response to the consultation.
Voluntary AI safety standards
Pending the potential introduction of the mandatory guardrails, the Australian Government released a set of voluntary AI safety standards (voluntary standards), intended to provide best practice guidance on the implementation of safe and responsible AI practices throughout the AI supply chain.
The voluntary standards comprise 10 voluntary guardrails that largely mirror the proposed mandatory guardrails, and have been developed to:
- help create a foundation for safe and responsible AI use;
- make it easier for organisations to comply with international practices and any potential future regulatory requirements in Australia; and
- uplift an organisation's AI maturity.
AI and ESG
The Australian Government has recently released AI and ESG, an introductory guide to responsible AI for ESG (Environmental, Societal and Governance) practitioners. It provides practical examples of where AI governance could intersect with ESG governance to support the implementation of the voluntary standards discussed above.
While the guide acknowledges that AI poses new risks and challenges, it also highlights that AI can potentially help solve some of our most pressing challenges in areas such as climate change, sustainability, accessibility and inclusion. It provides some real-world examples of how AI can be used to enhance ESG solutions to "encourage curiosity" in these areas.
The guide links to an "AI Impact Navigator" toolkit which the Australian Government has developed to help organisations assess, measure and report on the impact and outcomes of their use of AI systems and, in turn, "earn the trust of others". The Navigator is intended to complement the voluntary standards and support the adoption of safe and responsible AI within organisations. It uses a continuous improvement cycle known as "Plan, Act, Adapt" to help organisations measure the impact of their use of AI systems and to report publicly on the outcomes of AI.
Implications for New Zealand
Currently there is no guidance from the New Zealand Government in respect of AI development and use in the private sector. Organisations here commonly look to local industry-led guidance and/or international standards to inform responsible AI practices across the AI lifecycle.
Pending release of private sector guidance by the New Zealand Government, the Australian voluntary standards and ESG guidance may be useful resources for New Zealand organisations, particularly those also operating in Australia.
However, care should be taken to ensure that responsible AI practices are fit for purpose in New Zealand, including by acknowledging the importance of Te Ao Māori perspectives and reflecting New Zealand legislative requirements as appropriate.
Next steps
Russell McVeagh will continue to monitor AI developments in Australia and the New Zealand Government's activities in this space.
If you would like to discuss responsible AI practices within your organisation, please get in touch with one of our experts listed below.