On Tuesday, 19 August, I chaired the inaugural meeting of the AI Governance Expert Advisory Panel, convened under the Governance Institute of Australia. The panel brings together leading thinkers from across business, academia, and the not-for-profit sector to shape the future of AI deployment and governance in Australian workplaces.
The meeting followed a structured agenda that focused on the mission, purpose, and values guiding our work, and on the pressing issues organisations face as they adopt AI.
Shared Mission and Values
The panel affirmed its commitment to ensuring that AI in Australian workplaces is deployed ethically, responsibly, and with a clear focus on human benefit. Our discussion of shared values highlighted fairness, accountability, transparency, explainability, ethics, privacy, and safety. A recurring theme was the importance of embedding ethical principles such as beneficence, non-maleficence, and autonomy into workplace systems, not as abstract ideals but as practical tests for decision-making.
Key Issues for Australian Organisations
The panel explored the challenges that organisations face in deploying AI. Among the issues raised were:
- The lack of accessible skills and frameworks for SMEs and not-for-profits.
- The risks posed by “shadow AI” use without governance safeguards.
- The need for tailored training for directors and executives who are not technology specialists.
- The question of how AI risk can be incorporated into existing organisational risk frameworks without paralysing innovation.
Discussion underlined that the industry needs clear, practical guidance. A key role for the Governance Institute is to help organisations move from high-level principles to workable governance practices.
From Challenges to Action
The panel endorsed several areas of practical work, including:
- An AI workplace readiness initiative to help organisations assess their preparedness.
- The development of an AI verification checklist to support safe and ethical use.
- Case studies that demonstrate value creation and responsible implementation.
These initiatives will be progressed through working groups of panel members between meetings.
Delivering What Industry Needs
What stood out in this first meeting was the strong alignment between the panel’s priorities and the practical resources I have already been developing in recent months. The white papers and templates I have authored for both not-for-profits and SMEs are designed precisely to fill the gaps the industry has identified. The panel confirmed what I had suspected: there is significant demand for tools that translate principles into practice.
Looking Ahead
The first meeting of the AI Governance Expert Advisory Panel marked an important step forward. The message from the experts was clear: our work must stay anchored in what industry needs – practical guidance, usable frameworks, and a consistent ethical compass.
As Chair, I am committed to making sure that the panel’s outputs move beyond theory and deliver resources that help Australian organisations adopt AI responsibly, safely, and with confidence.
