Australia proposes an AI safety regulator. Here's how to get ready

The Australian Government has announced plans for a targeted AI safety regulator, with intended mandatory protections for all frontier AI companies wishing to operate in Australia, which a new regulator would enforce with significant penalties.

The proposed requirements cover security throughout development and deployment, serious model risk management, independent evaluation, rapid incident notification, published safety and security frameworks, and responses to updated standards and rules. The regulator would work with the Australian AI Safety Institute.

The announcement doesn't yet give a commencement date, penalty amounts or a formal regulator name, and the new duties are aimed at frontier AI companies rather than every organisation using AI.

But the direction is clear. As frontier providers take on these obligations, expect the questions to flow down to the businesses that build on and buy AI: customers, procurement teams and supply chains asking what AI you use, how you've assessed its risks and what evidence backs your controls.

The organisations that start now, with an AI inventory, risk assessments and evidence of controls, will be ready when those questions arrive. ISO/IEC 42001 can help structure an AI management system, though the release doesn't make certification mandatory or recognise it as satisfying the proposed rules.

Vissibl holds third-party frameworks and regulations together in one product, built bespoke for each organisation. Vissi does the compliance work, including keeping records and evidence current as requirements change.

Source: Australian Government, New Australian AI safety and security protections, 10 November 2026.

https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/t-ayres/media/new-australian-ai-safety-and-security-protections

Sean Hurley, Co-founder of Vissibl