Labor Party Makes Deal on Artificial Intelligence for Workers

Labor Party

Wednesday, July 22, 2026, 10:23 pm

Thursday, July 23, 2026, 7:49 am

A Labor source says the Prime Minister's previous speech has reduced anxiety about artificial intelligence before the party's national conference.

In short:

Labor members will support a national artificial intelligence taskforce that brings together workers, unions, and experts to shape the debate on AI.

The proposal will promote AI education and digital skills, giving the labor movement a bigger role in discussions about the technology's impact.

What's next?

Delegates will vote on the amendment at Labor's national conference, where the party's platform will be finalized this week.

Labor will respond to growing anxiety about artificial intelligence with a new taskforce to give Australian workers a greater say in how the technology shapes the nation.

Delegates are expected to endorse an amendment to the ALP's draft platform, establishing a Fair AI Taskforce after a deal was brokered ahead of the party's 50th National Conference in Adelaide on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will use a keynote address at the opening of the three-day conference to announce the expansion of Labor's paid practice scheme to students in ten additional healthcare professions.

Labor insiders expect ongoing debate about artificial intelligence when party members gather to discuss a policy platform to guide the next three years.

The ABC can reveal an agreement was reached late on Wednesday on an amendment pushed by Labor's Right faction to ensure workers and unions can help shape how AI impacts Australian workplaces.

AI job losses and workforce disruption have been a key concern in behind-the-scenes talks, with the breakthrough potentially reducing the chance of a policy brawl on the conference floor.

But negotiations remain ongoing on a range of other issues, including funding for local governments, the taxation of natural resources, and gambling reform.

Labor to establish AI taskforce

The proposed national Fair AI Taskforce would bring together unions, rank-and-file Labor members, and artificial intelligence experts to develop AI policy ideas.

The new body would operate through the Chifley Research Centre and advocate for wider access to AI education and digital skills training.

It would also build awareness among members, unions, and the broader community of the opportunities and risks AI presents.

Senior Right figure and NSW Senator Tony Sheldon said there was no denying the value AI could create, but the value must flow through to and benefit all Australians rather than be concentrated in the hands of global tech giants.

We cannot outsource Australia's future to tech bros.

Senator Sheldon argued AI was a tool for work, not a decision maker, insisting things like judgment, context, nuance, common sense, or empathy could not be programmed into an algorithm.

Human intelligence should be the final arbiter of every decision.

The move comes a week after Mr. Albanese unveiled plans for a national AI framework, an Office of AI, and mandatory standards for data centers, arguing Australia should help shape the AI revolution rather than simply respond to it.

One Labor source said Mr. Albanese's address had calmed AI anxiety within the party ahead of the conference but expected in the longer term the government's response to the technology would remain a contentious issue internally.

PM says One Nation rage doesn't take the country forward

In his speech on the first day of the triennial conference, Mr. Albanese will acknowledge cost of living pressures and the feeling many people have that the economy is simply not working for them.

That goes deeper than sentiment, it's a reality people are up against.

Mr. Albanese will argue his government's focus on practical measures that matter to people and make a positive difference in their lives is how Labor can prove the status quo is not set in stone.

That is how we demonstrate to Australians that their hard work will pay off, that their effort is worth it, that they can plan and build for their future.

Mr. Albanese has repeatedly argued his government is working on solutions, unlike parties of grievance like Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

In a thinly veiled rebuke of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, Mr. Albanese will also criticize politicians who play up grievances and unfairly blame problems on others.

A list of problems only counts for something if it comes with solutions.

And while you can go a long way in politics, for a long time, by raging against a system that you are a part of, without a plan to fix it.

Or blaming people who cannot defend themselves for a problem they did not cause.

That doesn't build anything. It doesn't change anything. It doesn't take our country forward.

Paid practice expanded to more healthcare students

Mr. Albanese will also announce the expansion of the Commonwealth Practice Payment scheme to include students of clinical psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, paramedicine, radiography, pharmacy, rehabilitation therapies, audiology, and podiatry.

Since last year, Australians studying teaching, nursing, midwifery, and social work have been able to access payment while undertaking placements for their studies.

The scheme will be expanded to healthcare students across the country.

Students studying medicine or veterinary courses have not been granted access to the paid practice scheme.

Eligible students currently receive $338.60 per week during their clinical and professional placement periods, with the payment means tested and indexed annually.

Mr. Albanese said expanding paid practice would help more Australians get the qualifications the nation needed.

This is an investment in our future healthcare workforce.

Health Minister Mark Butler said the changes would be of particular benefit to Australians in the bush.

Health Minister Mark Butler said students from the bush who faced an extra cost training away from home would particularly benefit.

This expansion means that if you're training to be a pharmacist, physio, or psychologist, you'll also now have a bit of extra help to get through.

Education Minister Jason Clare said paid practice was already making a difference for students training in a range of areas, which was why the government was expanding it.

This will help more students finish their qualifications and move into the jobs the country needs.

Gambling, gas, and super talks ahead of conference

Policy fights on gambling harm reduction, a gas export tax, and local government funding are brewing ahead of the conference, though not every issue is expected to result in a debate among delegates on the floor.

Party powerbrokers and unions are also in talks on issues such as improving dental access through Medicare, compulsory superannuation for under-18s, and the creation of an independent aviation body.

A draft document, seen by ABC, reveals AI, gambling, and the Middle East are expected to feature heavily in Labor's upcoming national conference debate.

Multiple Labor sources have told the ABC efforts are underway to progress amendments to Labor's draft national platform on gambling after the suite of changes unveiled by Mr. Albanese earlier this year did not include the establishment of a national watchdog.

During the conference, former treasurer and outgoing ALP President Wayne Swan, as well as former indigenous affairs minister Linda Burney, will both be awarded National Life Membership of the party.

Mr. Albanese said Mr. Swan had dedicated his life to improving the lot of working Australians, while Ms. Burney was a trailblazer as the first Indigenous woman elected to the House of Representatives.

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