# No AI Act: what Australia's National AI Plan means for your business

URL: https://aura8.ai/blog/no-ai-act-national-ai-plan/
Updated: 3 November 2026

> On 2 December 2025 the Government's National AI Plan, as reported by ABC News, paused mandatory AI guardrails and ruled out a standalone AI Act for now, relying on existing laws and regulators. Existing privacy and consumer law still apply to AI-assisted work. It could change.

## What did the Government decide?
 On 2 December 2025 the Federal Government released its National AI Plan. According to ABC News, it paused the mandatory guardrails for high-risk AI that had been proposed, and decided not to pursue a standalone AI Act. It says it will rely on existing, largely technology-neutral laws and on regulators' existing expertise.
 No AI ActThe Government chose existing laws over a standalone AI law, and says it will act if more regulation is needed.
## What else is in the plan?
 ABC reports a $30 million AI Safety Institute, starting the following year, to monitor AI development and advise industry, agencies and ministers on gaps in the law. It also reports planned work on consumer protection rules, copyright, AI in health care, and AI in workplaces.
## What does that mean for a business?
 Our reading: the absence of an AI Act does not mean AI use is unregulated. The laws you already follow still apply when you use AI, including privacy law, consumer law on what you claim, and the rules of your own profession. For example, a misleading claim is just as misleading when an AI tool wrote it. See our article on reviews and misleading claims.
## Who disagrees?
 ABC reports that critics, including a former industry minister and a Greens senator, wanted a standalone Act. It is a policy choice, not a settled debate, and it could change.
## What should you do?
- Treat your existing obligations as the standard for anything AI helps you publish.
- Keep a record of the AI tools you use and who approves their output. See the six practices.
- Watch for changes. The plan says the Government will act if needed.
## What does this article not tell you?
- We read a news report of the plan, not the plan itself.
- It is not legal advice, and it does not say which laws apply to your business.
- Policy can change after 2 December 2025.
## Is your website ready for AI?
Our free check reads your site the way AI tools do, tests four AI crawlers live and scores nine dimensions out of 100.
Run the free check
## Sources
- AI to be managed through existing laws under national plan · ABC News, 2 December 2025. News report, read by us on 30 September 2026.
 We keep what a source says separate from our reading of it. If a source is from another country or a different date, we say so. We are not giving advice, and nothing here is a promise of rankings, citations or sales.
## What should I read next?
ARTICLE
### Fake reviews and misleading claims
Read the articleARTICLE
### How to write the page your customer's question deserves
Read the articleARTICLE
### A 30-minute AI search check you can do yourself
Read the article

## Questions

### Is there an AI law in Australia?
There is no standalone AI Act. The Government's plan, as reported by ABC News on 2 December 2025, relies on existing laws.

### Do existing laws apply to content that AI wrote?
Our reading is yes. Privacy law and laws on misleading claims apply to what you publish, whoever or whatever drafted it.