The Albanese government is proposing a deal with AI firms like Anthropic and OpenAI to allow free use of Australian content for training purposes, provided these companies agree to work with a certain number of local businesses. This initiative aims to attract significant investments from tech giants who view Australia as an ideal location due to its political stability and renewable energy resources. However, the proposal includes a provision that copyright holders can opt out if they choose, which is designed to protect Australian creators while potentially resolving legal conflicts over international copyright laws.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Labor has offered AI firms open use of Australian content for training if they strike deals with enough Australian companies, in an attempt to break an impasse with tech firms wanting to invest billions.
asserted
firms → offer → billions
Copyright holders such as authors, musicians or publications could be given the right to opt out, but under the proposal, the AI giants would be free to use any other material.
uncertain
giants → give → material
The negotiations over Australia’s copyright laws are a pivotal component of the talks between the Albanese government and firms including Anthropic and OpenAI.
asserted
negotiations → include → Anthropic
These firms view Australia as arguably the best location to train their models outside the US due to a combination of geography, political stability, renewable energy and space.
asserted
firms → view → geography
Labor argues the investment represents Australia’s best chance of creating a new phase of growth like the mining boom.
asserted
investment → argue → boom
However, Australia’s existing copyright laws, which are tougher than those in most other countries, including the US, expose AI firms to the risk of being sued by international rights holders in Australia.
asserted
which → exist → Australia
AI execs also do not want Australia’s laws to create an international precedent.
asserted
laws → want → precedent
AI firms are chiefly worried they could be sued under Australian law by overseas copyright holders, bucking the common view that the US tech giants are most interested in finding ways to avoid paying for Australian content, which comprises only a tiny fragment of the content used to train models such as ChatGPT and Claude.
uncertain
which → worry → ChatGPT
In his keynote speech on AI on July 15, Albanese signalled that Labor wanted to give local creatives control over whether their work was used.
asserted
work → signal → control
“No company should use Australian books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist’s control.
asserted
company → use → control
That includes the artist’s control of the price and value of their work,” he said.
asserted
he → include → work
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland’s department this month began consultations on copyright proposals to settle the deadlock.
asserted
department → begin → deadlock
One option, according to departmental documents released by Senator David Pocock, gives AI firms legal permission to use unprotected material from owners who have not formally opted out.
uncertain
who → accord → owners
It follows plans within the proposed digital duty of care to allow adults to opt out of algorithmic social feeds, as the government seeks to regulate rather than block tech companies in Australia.
asserted
government → follow → Australia
Firms would need to make payments to an organisation that would then distribute money to rights holders.
asserted
that → need → holders
An alternative model would force tech companies to strike content deals with a minimum quota of Australian companies to receive legal rights to train on Australian content.
asserted
model → force → content
The document says a key objective of the proposals was to “uphold the prime minister’s commitment to a strong and vibrant Australian creative and media sector”.
asserted
objective → say → sector
On Tuesday, OpenAI said Australia would become the first country to host AI model training if copyright could be resolved.
uncertain
copyright → say → training
Anthropic has offered similar suggestions and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said in August that the investment window, which rests on the copyright negotiation, would run out in months rather than years because the technology was moving so fast.
asserted
technology → offer → months
“We are working at pace here,” Marles said on ABC’s 7.30 Report on Tuesday night, noting that “the opportunity for Australia economically is enormous” if the government can collaborate with the tech giants, but any deal needed “to come on terms which are in our national interest”.
asserted
which → work → interest
Pocock, who has been arguing for a tax on AI firms, said he was deeply concerned by the proposals.
asserted
he → argue → proposals
“It would mean putting companies’ interests over everyday Australians, giving AI companies access to all Australians’ content unless they opt out and they somehow put some sort of label on it to say, ‘please don’t use this for training’,” he said.
asserted
he → put → training
Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash described the opt-out proposal as “a text and data mining exception with an opt-out bolted on.
asserted
Cash → describe → out
It is precisely what the government said it had ruled out,” and demanded the government enforce existing laws and ensure deals were struck with all copyright holders.
asserted
deals → say → holders
The Coalition’s communications spokeswoman, Sarah Henderson, said: “This has all the hallmarks of a dirty deal to hand the intellectual property of Australian creators to global AI giants.”
asserted
This → say → giants
Top AI execs this week called for a global slowdown in AI development due to safety fears.
asserted
execs → call → fears
US President Donald Trump pushed back and said China, which is pushing for digital supremacy, would not slow down.
asserted
which → push → supremacy
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that Abigail Bradshaw, of the Australian Signals Directorate, had raised the prospect of an “early warning system for advanced AI models” which would involve “companies working together with governments to identify and address AI immediately, rather than before it is too late.”
asserted
it → say → AI
Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
asserted
Subscribers → sign → newsletter
The Aporia
