Governance

AI Action Plan

Australian Government’s multi-year plan to invest in AI capability.

How the laws define this

Official sources align on defining an AI Action Plan as a coordinated government strategy aimed at advancing national artificial intelligence competitiveness and capability through concrete policy implementation steps. The primary point of divergence lies in the administrative scope, operational mechanism, and drafting structure specified by each instrument. The Australian Government, as cited by the National Artificial Intelligence Centre (NAIC) — CSIRO Data61, treats the plan as a broad multi-year strategy and funding framework designed to invest in national capability, skills, industry engagement, and the operationalisation of the NAIC. In contrast, Executive Order: Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence (EO 14179) defines the plan as a cross-agency directive with specific actions, timelines, and metrics. Prepared by the APST, the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, and the APNSA for submission to the President within 180 days, EO 14179 focuses internally on guiding federal agency reviews and OMB memorandum revisions.

Synthesised from the 2 statutory definitions below. Each one is quoted in full, with its source.

How jurisdictions differ

What is distinctive in each definition, binding law in force first.

Jurisdiction	Instrument	Status	What is distinctive
United States	Executive Order: Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence (EO 14179)	In Force	This definition limits the AI Action Plan to a U.S. federal Executive Order strategy with cross-agency actions, timelines, metrics, and agency guidance submissions within 180 days.
Australia	National Artificial Intelligence Centre (NAIC) — CSIRO Data61	In Force	This definition widens the AI Action Plan to a non-binding Australian multi-year strategy and funding framework that operationalised the NAIC for AI adoption and industry support.

What it triggers

Under Executive Order 14179, the AI Action Plan guides agency reviews, OMB memorandum revisions, and related implementation steps.source
Under the National Artificial Intelligence Centre (NAIC), the AI Action Plan sets out the funding framework under which NAIC was funded and operationalised.source

Definitions (2)

The AI Action Plan denotes the Australian Government’s multi-year strategy and funding framework designed to invest in national AI capability and under which NAIC was funded and operationalised to support adoption, skills and industry engagement.

National Artificial Intelligence Centre (NAIC) — CSIRO Data61Definition 1 of 2

A coordinated cross‑agency strategy, with specific actions, timelines, and metrics, to implement the Executive Order's policy priorities on AI competitiveness; prepared by the APST, the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, and the APNSA and submitted to the President within 180 days to guide agency reviews, OMB memorandum revisions, and related implementation steps.

Executive Order: Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence (EO 14179)Definition 2 of 2

Not to be confused with

NAIC

NAIC is the specific national hub funded and operationalised under the Australian AI Action Plan, whereas the Plan is the broader strategy and funding framework.

National AI Fund (NAIF)

National AI Fund (NAIF) is a ring-fenced financing vehicle for AI R&D and commercialization, while the AI Action Plan is the overarching multi-year strategy that may encompass such funding.

Questions and answers

How was NAIC established under Australia's AI Action Plan?

Australia's AI Action Plan is the multi-year strategy and funding framework under which the National Artificial Intelligence Centre (NAIC) was funded and operationalised within CSIRO Data61. It supports AI adoption, skills, and industry engagement as a non-binding policy.

What distinguishes the US and Australian AI Action Plans?

The US version is a specific Executive Order-mandated plan with timelines and metrics for federal agencies, while Australia's is a broader non-binding multi-year investment strategy that funded NAIC.