The public service is a major employer delivering critical services for the Australian community. The use of AI in our public service will not only effect public servants but the community as a whole.
This presents both opportunity and risk, and adoption of AI must be done in a way that fosters accountability, transparency, and confidence in the public sector.
Robodebt demonstrated the risks of automated decision-making, CPSU members working in Services Australia raised their concerns and were consistently ignored. AI use in the public service without real worker consultation and engagement and appropriate mechanisms for oversight and review would be disastrous.
If AI is used in recruitment, we know that it can reproduce sexist and racist biases in its filtering processes. We need a diverse public sector that reflects our diverse community, and public service recruitment needs to identify the most suitable person for a role, whatever their background.
We know if the Coalition are in government in future they would try to cut jobs and we need to ensure that we don’t end up with a scenario where Australian pensioners, job seekers, Australians living with disability and anyone accessing our public services are forced to interact with AI agents instead of public servants.
Unless the adoption of AI technology is carefully managed, it risks the security of the personal data of Australians, and even confidential or classified government material, exposing Federal and ACT governments to additional risk in an increasingly complex international security environment. Federal and ACT governments have the opportunity to be model employers in the adoption of AI and ensure it is implemented safely and responsibly in the workplace.