Australia Voluntary AI Safety Standard

This is the big one for Australian organisations. The Voluntary AI Safety Standard represents the government's clearest signal yet about where AI regulation is heading in Australia. While it's voluntary now, make no mistake—these ten guardrails are very likely the foundation for future mandatory requirements. The October 2025 update to AI6 made it even more comprehensive.

The Standard covers the full AI supply chain: accountability (who's responsible), risk management (identifying and treating risks), data governance (quality and rights), testing and assurance (does it work as intended), human oversight (keeping humans in the loop), transparency (explaining what it does), contestability (challenging decisions), secure and resilient supply chains, record-keeping and stakeholder engagement. It aligns deliberately with ISO 42001 and NIST AI RMF, so if you implement those frameworks, you're already most of the way there.

For you, this is not optional even though it's technically voluntary. If you're in a regulated industry, your regulator will be watching. If you're bidding for government contracts, compliance will become a differentiator. If you're in a sector with industry codes, expect these guardrails to get baked in. Our strong recommendation: start implementing now. The guardrails are practical and achievable, and getting ahead of the curve positions you well for when (not if) these become mandatory. We're already seeing insurance companies asking about AI governance, investors conducting AI due diligence and customers including AI safety requirements in procurement. This Standard gives you the framework to answer those questions confidently.