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A home-grown Aussie AI industry could add $235 billion to our economy – but only if we get it right and act now – according to a new report from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE).
The report, by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) and global management consulting firm Kearney, outlines a clear blueprint for AI investment, including:
- AI factories to connect talent, research, industry and government
- A national AI talent pipeline and developing population-scale AI training
- AI specifically made for Australia-specific uses in fields such as geoscience and health
The briefing will bring together the experts behind the report to discuss what an Aussie AI industry would look like.
Speakers:
- Dr Katherine Woodthorpe is President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE)
- Anshuman Sengar is a Partner and Global Data & AI Lead at Kearney
- Dr Sue Keay is Director of the AI Institute at UNSW
- Professor Shazia Sadiq is the Centre Director of ARC Training Centre for Information Resilience at the University of Queensland
Date: Thu 20 Nov 2025
Start Time: 09:30am AEDT
Duration: Approx 45 min
Venue: Online - Zoom
MEDIA RELEASE - ATSE
Seizing Australia’s $235 billion AI opportunity
Harnessing AI could supercharge Australia’s economy by $235 billion – but only if we get it right and act now – according to a new report from Australia’s leading tech academy.
The report warns that Australia is lagging in the race for AI investment and leadership, with other leading economies investing ten times more in AI infrastructure and skills.
The report, by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) and global management consulting firm Kearney, outlines a clear blueprint for AI investment, including:
- creating a network of regional AI factories to connect talent, research, industry and government
- building a national AI talent pipeline and developing population-scale AI training,
- and developing specialised AI models and national datasets covering Australia-specific use cases in national-priority fields such as geoscience and health.
With decisive government action, including an additional $5 billion over five years, the report estimates that between $160 billion to $235 billion could be added to Australia’s economy – or a 6 to 8% increase in GDP.
“AI is a swift-moving technology and will be critical to Australia’s future security, resilience and independence,” said ATSE CEO Kylie Walker.
“Investment in AI – people, tech and infrastructure – must align with our national interests. For Australia, this means establishing our own sovereign AI capability – both the physical infrastructure and the skilled workforce and partnerships to support it.
“Australia already has the ingredients to become an AI powerhouse – but we need targeted policy and investment to make that happen.”
“Other countries aren’t waiting – they’re spending billions on AI infrastructure and skills.”
“Australia can significantly uplift its productivity and compete at the technological frontier with AI—if it acts now,” said Anshuman Sengar, Partner – Global Data & AI Lead at Kearney.
“Other governments are already investing billions to secure their AI economies and Australia must not fall behind.”
“Re-skilling and up-skilling are the most underestimated drivers of AI adoption,” said Tomas Ptacek, Senior Director – Data & AI at Kearney.
“The government has a unique opportunity to orchestrate a nation-wide capability uplift – especially for small businesses – ensuring Australians benefit from the global wave of high-value AI jobs.”
The report builds on ATSE’s Made in Australia: Our AI opportunity vision statement, released in August this year, outlining the case for Australia to develop sovereign AI capability.
