A new leadership role for a new era of public service 

Under the APS AI Plan, all agencies (non-corporate Commonwealth entities) are required to appoint a senior leader as their Chief AI Officer (CAIO) by 30 June 2026. Corporate Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies are strongly encouraged to appoint a CAIO. 

CAIOs will be a senior leader who will guide how their agency adopts and uses AI, especially generative AI, as it rapidly reshapes the way government operates, delivers services, and supports Australians. While agencies already have AI Accountable Officials (AOs) focused on risk and governance, the CAIO plays a different and complementary role: driving culture, opportunity, and strategic adoption. 

 

What does a CAIO do? 

CAIOs provide the strategic leadership needed to ensure the APS keeps pace with fastmoving AI technologies. Their focus is less on technical detail and more on opportunity, transformation and systemwide coordination. 

Core responsibilities 

  • Champion AI adoption across the agency and identify where it can meaningfully improve outcomes for the public. 
  • Accelerate AI capability development, ensuring staff can use the technology safely and effectively. 
  • Lead strategic change, challenging outdated assumptions and helping overcome cultural and organisational barriers as they arise. 
  • Work across domains—technology, data, HR, policy, cybersecurity, privacy—to ensure AI is adopted responsibly and coherently. 
  • Collaborate across the APS, working closely with other CAIOs and the new AI Delivery and Enablement (AIDE) function in Finance. 

Why this role matters 

AI is not just another technology upgrade—it’s a general-purpose capability that will affect everything we do. Traditional ICT and governance cycles are not suited to the rapid rate of AI’s evolution. Without focused leadership, agencies risk failing to make the most of the opportunities provided by these new capabilities.  

 

CAIOs enable the APS to: 

  • move from experimentation to systematic, responsible adoption 
  • take a whole of organisation view of AI risks and opportunities  
  • build momentum when the path ahead is uncertain 
  • avoid stagnation by balancing innovation with proper governance. 

 

CAIO resources 

The AI Delivery and Enablement team has developed a dedicated CAIO information pack to support agencies in appointing a CAIO and an accompanying blog for newly appointed CAIOs.  

 

Chief AI Officers 

APS agencies are progressively formalising the appointment of Chief AI Officers (CAIOs) to lead safe, strategic and transformational AI adoption. Agencies who have appointed a CAIO are listed below:

Administrative Review Tribunal
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency
Attorney-General's Department
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australian Centre for Disease Control
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Australian Communications and Media Authority
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission    
Australian Digital Health Agency
Australian Electoral Commission
Australian Energy Regulator
Australian Public Service Commission
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre
Australian Federal Police
Australian Financial Security Authority
Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Australian Human Rights Commission
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Australian Institute of Criminology
Australian Institute of Family Studies
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Australian Law Reform Commission
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
Australian National Audit Office
Australian Office of Financial Management
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency
Australian Research Council
Australian Secret Intelligence Service
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Australian Signals Directorate
Australian Skills Quality Authority (National Vocational Education and Training Regulator)
Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)
Australian Transport Safety Bureau
Australian War Memorial
Bureau of Meteorology
Cancer Australia
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Clean Energy Regulator
Climate Change Authority
Commonwealth Grants Commission
Defence Housing Australia
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
Department of Education 
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
Department of Finance
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Department of Home Affairs
Department of Industry, Science and Resources
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts
Department of Parliamentary Services
Department of Social Services
Department of the House of Representatives
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Department of the Senate
Department of the Treasury
Department of Veterans' Affairs
Digital Transformation Agency
Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission
Fair Work Commission
Federal Court of Australia
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Future Fund Management Agency
Geoscience Australia
High Speed Rail Authority
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority
IP Australia
National Anti-Corruption Commission
National Archives of Australia
National Blood Authority
National Capital Authority
National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People
National Competition Council
National Disability Insurance Agency
National Emergency Management Agency
National Health and Medical Research Council
National Health Funding Body
National Indigenous Australians Agency
National Library of Australia
National Museum of Australia
National Portrait Gallery of Australia
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
Net Zero Economy Authority
Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility
Office of Parliamentary Counsel
Office of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
Office of the Australian Accounting Standards Board
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman
Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman
Office of National Intelligence
Office of the Inspector-General of Aged Care
Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General
Office of the Special Investigator
Old Parliament House (The Museum of Australian Democracy)
Organ and Tissue Authority
Parliamentary Budget Office
Parliamentary Workplace Support Service
Professional Services Review
Royal Australian Mint 
Safe Work Australia
Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority
Services Australia
Sport Integrity Australia
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency
Workplace Gender Equality Agency
 

Agencies are responsible for ensuring AIDE is notified if their CAIO nomination ceases or when new CAIOs are appointed by emailing aide@finance.gov.au