Treasury on Tuesday opened consultation on whether Australia’s tech neutral consumer laws are fit for the purpose of regulating artificial intelligence products and services, like software, phones and streaming services.
The latest consultation will run for one month to consider the applicability of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) to the potential risks and harms of AI-enabled goods and services, including where liability lies and what remedies are available to consumers.
Concerns about the adequacy of the current ACL were raised last year during the Industry department’s ‘Safe and responsible AI in Australia’ consultation, with some experts pushing for specific reforms to deal with technology and other digital goods and services.
Among the themes that Treasury’s consultation will consider are:
- How well adapted the ACL is to support Australian consumers and businesses to manage potential consumer law risks of AI-enabled goods and services
- The application of well-established ACL principles to AI-enabled goods and services
- The remedies available to consumers of AI-enabled goods and services under the ACL
- The mechanisms for allocating liability among manufacturers and suppliers of AI-enabled goods and services
The Business Council of Australia told the earlier Industry department consultation that the technology neutral language of the ACL provides adequate consumer protection from the potential harms of AI-enabled goods and services, but further regulatory guidance could be warranted.
UTS Professor David Lindsay has warned AI has unique characteristics that require new consumer guarantees – basic expectations – including the establishment of a new class of digital goods.
Additional guarantees to better cover digital products in general have also been suggested, including those relating to cybersecurity, interoperability, and that software updates be delivered in reasonable time periods.
Submissions on Treasury’s discussion paper will close on November 12.
Treasury’s consultation comes two weeks after Industry closed its consultation on mandatory guardrails to protect against high-risk AI and a day after the Health department Artificial Intelligence in Health Care Legislation and Regulation Review closed to submissions.
In the 2024-25 budget, the federal government earmarked $39.9 million over five years for the development of policies and capability to support the adoption and use of AI, including work to clarify and strengthen existing laws.
Last month, the Albanese government put forward 10 potential mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings, following the Industry department’s consultation on AI.
The Attorney General’s Department has also convened a 20-member copyright and AI reference group prior to the budget to facilitate engagement between government, business, and other non-government interest groups.
Other areas of AI policy development include the Digital Transformation Agency-led policy for responsible use of AI by government launched earlier this year and a national framework for the use of AI in schools launched last year.
Parliamentarians are also consulting on AI policy and regulation through a Senate inquiry into adopting artificial intelligence, a House committee inquiry into the digital transformation of workplaces, and a Joint committee inquiry into the use and governance of artificial intelligence systems by public sector entities.
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