Public sector union members are demanding the Albanese government halt the use of complex automated decision-making (ADM) in federal agencies until mandatory sector-wide safeguards are implemented.
A meeting of Community and Public Sector Union members including workers employed by Services Australia, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the Australian Taxation Office, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the National Disability Insurance Agency expressed concern that an algorithm could determine a person's access to, or level of, support, with little or no capacity for a human intervention.
Members also expressed concern about a lack of transparency, with more than a third saying they were unaware if ADM was being used in their departments and agencies.
ADM has been widely adopted by many government agencies and is used in many service delivery contexts such as social services, migration, biosecurity, aged care and veterans' entitlements.
A recent report by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner assessed how transparent government agencies were about their use of ADM
It said public examples of failures of oversight of ADM, such as those outlined by the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, highlighted the need for transparency about its use by the government.
Reviewing the 23 agencies that had statutory authorisation to use ADM, the report did not find a single agency that had published guidelines or policies on ADM.
Just four of the agencies authorised to use ADM disclosed in their Information Publication Scheme that they used ADM and a further nine agencies made reference to ADM in their IPS information but did not confirm that they used it.
Ten agencies did not mention ADM in their IPS information, while the agencies that disclosed in their IPS information that they used ADM were not clear about how they used it.
"The benefits of utilising ADM technology in government will only be realised if risks are appropriately mitigated and trust is built with the Australian community," the report states.
CPSU deputy secretary Rebecca Fawcett said public sector workers understood better than anyone the risks of rolling out complex automated decision-making systems without proper safeguards, transparency and accountability.
"The lesson from Robodebt is clear: government must not allow complex automated decision-making to operate ahead of clear rules that protect people, uphold public service values and ensure decisions can be properly explained and challenged," she said.
"With public concerns about the algorithmic decision making in aged care, and a similar assessment tool planned for the NDIS, it is critical that we have clear and mandatory safeguards in place before systems are embedded in ways that could negatively affect the community - Australian families and public sector workers."
A spokesperson for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the government was committed to ensuring the safe and responsible use of ADM to deliver timely and efficient services for the Australian community.
"The government is leading the development of a consistent, whole of government framework for the use of ADM, implementing recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme," the spokesperson said.
"The lesson from Robodebt is not that governments should stop using technology. It is that automated decision-making must be lawful, transparent and accountable, with appropriate safeguards and human oversight.
"The Attorney-General's Department is continuing to consult widely to ensure that the ADM framework is appropriate, effective and durable."
Ms Fawcett said if CPSU members were seeing inappropriate use of automated decision-making and AI in their agencies, they should call it out and let the union know.
"Public sector workers providing public services are best placed to raise alarm bells when something's not right. They did that with the Robodebt scheme; this time they must and will be listened to," she said.
"This is why we are calling on stronger protections around AI in the current round of bargaining incorporating principles that support the safe and effective deployment of AI and other tech to be locked into enterprise agreements." First published in The Australian on 2 September 2026 as 'Public sector union demands government halt automated decisions amid Robodebt fears' by Ewin Hannan
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