The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) is on the hunt for a digital governance and risk expert to set up and manage Labor’s promised whole-of-government AI oversight committee.
The new hire is one of eight vacancies the agency is seeking to fill to boost its AI policy development, data analysis and training capabilities.
The DTA is also seeking to fill a senior AI policy officer position to work on implementing a framework and guidance to ensure to support the committee’s work.
The remaining six positions that the DTA is seeking to fill cover a mix of AI-related qualifications, including in data analysis, education, training and skills development, strategic communications.
The DTA’s acting chief executive, Lucy Poole, confirmed to iTnews that the newly advertised roles were a direct response to the government’s policy to establish the committee which is scheduled to become operational late this year.
“These recruitment processes are to support the DTA’s responsibilities under the APS AI Plan, including – but not limited to – the development and management of the AI Review Committee.
“The DTA has commenced work to establish the AI Review Committee and will be able to provide further information by mid-2026,” Poole said.
The executive given the demanding job of establishing and running the committee will be required to meet a wide range of responsibilities, including ministerial briefings, according to the DTA’s job description documents.
“You will contribute to system-wide data and insights on AI adoption across the APS and provide authoritative advice through high quality correspondence, briefings, and communications to inform senior executives, interdepartmental forums and Ministers on AI policy, governance and risk matters,” the documents state.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher first announced the plan for the oversight committee last November at the unveiling the government’s strategy to promote safe adoption of generative AI across the public service.
The committee will focus on AI uses deemed high-risk as the government pursues an ambitious agenda to ensure the public service captures unprecedented productivity improvement that the automation technology’s makers have long-promised.
Labor is fearful of overseeing a public sector that is left to fall behind the private sector when it comes to AI adoption, but equally keen to avoid tripping on any of political boobytraps that the technology could place in its path.
At the unveiling of the plan, Gallagher pledged that every public servant would have secure access to generative AI from their laptop.
In the background, Home Affairs has been ramping up its efforts to develop security frameworks that will allow generative AI to be used to access progressively more sensitive classes of government data and information.
Last December, iTnews reported that Home Affairs had been holding briefings with government technology to discuss its policies for departmental and agency use of generative AI with Commonwealth records and data classed ‘protected’.
Prior to that time, Home Affairs’ supplier briefings focused on its security directive for using generative AI with government information and data in the less sensitive classification ‘official’.
The government is yet to reveal details about the composition of the committee, including its process for selecting members and the expertise it expects them to have.
However, last year Finance told iTnews that its candidates were expected to come from within the public service.
At the time, Finance said that it would reveal more details about the board’s membership early this year.