The essential practices are the Australian Government’s guidance for responsible AI use. They help organisations put appropriate governance, oversight and transparency in place.
Essential AI practices
Learn the core practices that support safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence
Why this matters
AI can improve efficiency, support better services and open new opportunities. But long-term value depends on trust. These practices help organisations:
- align AI use with business goals
- put governance in place early
- manage risk based on AI use
- strengthen oversight, accountability and decision-making
- be clear about when and how AI has been used to create or modify content.
They align with Australia’s AI Ethics Principles and relevant international standards. This gives organisations a shared, trusted baseline for responsible AI use.
Explore the guides
Choose the guidance that matches how your organisation is using AI today and the level of risk involved.
How to decide where to start
Here is each option in more detail to help you decide which guidance fits your situation.
Start with the foundations
If you’re early in planning or trialling AI, begin with our foundations guidance.
Use it to:
- connect AI use to business outcomes
- understand governance roles
- identify risks early
- put controls in place before scaling.
Move to implementation
If your team already uses AI and needs stronger controls, use our implementation guidance.
Use it to strengthen:
- governance processes
- technical oversight
- monitoring and assurance
- risk controls across systems and workflows
- responsible day-to-day practices.
Be clear about AI use
People need to know when AI has been used in a way that affects them.
Our guidance helps you decide when and how to tell customers, staff and the public that you’ve used AI to create or modify content. This helps build trust through clear and appropriate disclosure.