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AI in Australian education

Australian education has no single AI law. Schools work under a national framework endorsed by education ministers, universities answer to TEQSA for assessment integrity, and state education departments set binding rules for their own schools. Privacy law and the eSafety Commissioner apply on top. Here is what applies, what changed recently and what a provider should do about it.

Dept of EducationTEQSAOAICeSafety CommissionerState education departments

Last reviewed August 2026. Every entry links to its official source.

The rules

What applies today

The national policy framework for generative AI in all Australian schools, built on six principles: teaching and learning, human and social wellbeing, transparency, fairness, accountability, and privacy, security and safety. Education ministers endorsed a review of the framework in June 2025 which found it fit for purpose, and taskforce working groups are developing national product expectations for edtech AI tools.

Who this affects: All school sectors (government, Catholic and independent). It is national policy rather than legislation; states and systems implement it through their own binding policies.

Latest updates

What changed recently

  1. eSafety published a new advisory on sharing school imagery in the age of AI, after more than 100 reports in early 2026 of anonymous accounts targeting schools and staff with AI-manipulated content harvested from school social media.

    eSafety media release

  2. The Prime Minister announced the Australian Standards for AI and a new Office of AI within PM&C, followed days later by whole-of-government AI consumer safety priorities including a legislated Digital Duty of Care and a second tranche of privacy reform.

    PM media release: AI in Australia's interests

  3. TEQSA published Assuring quality learning in a gen AI-integrated future, the third instalment of its assessment reform series for higher education providers.

    TEQSA gen-AI resources

  4. TEQSA released its revised Academic Integrity Toolkit with new sections on assessment design and security and on risks to academic integrity from generative AI.

    TEQSA: revised Academic Integrity Toolkit

Getting ready

Compliance checklist

  • Map every AI tool you use against the national framework's six principles and document how each one addresses teaching and learning, wellbeing, transparency, fairness, accountability and privacy. See the rule

  • Universities: keep a governed gen-AI action plan addressing award integrity current, and align assessment redesign with TEQSA's assessment reform series. See the rule

  • Run privacy due diligence before procuring any AI tool: where data is stored, whether inputs train the model, and which third parties receive it. See the rule

  • Prohibit entering student or staff personal information into public gen-AI tools, and prohibit uploading or generating media depicting students, staff or parents. See the rule

  • Get informed opt-in consent from parents and carers where a tool collects personal information beyond a school email and password. See the rule

  • Keep humans in the loop on judgements: no gen-AI marking decisions about student achievement, writing student reports or replacing teacher communication with families. See the rule

  • Have a deepfake and image-misuse incident response plan, and take a risk-based approach to posting student and staff imagery publicly. See the rule

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