The National Audit Office wants to know.
The Australian National Audit office has announced that it’s looking into whether the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s use of AI to manage health provider non-compliance is working.
The ANAO is asking:
- Does DoHDA have appropriate governance arrangements supporting the adoption of AI?
- Does DoHDA have fit-for-purpose arrangements for the design, development and deployment of AI models for managing health provider non-compliance?
- Is DoHDA effectively monitoring and reporting the impact of the use of AI?
- Does DoHDA have fit for purpose assurance arrangements over the adoption of AI by health providers?
DoHDA’s Safe and Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Health Care – Legislation and Regulation Review Final Report March 2025, which in part looked at the potential impact of AI on healthcare regulation, found that:
- National privacy law, consumer law, therapeutic goods and health practitioner regulation will probably “require minor and technical amendments for clarity”;
- We need centralised, national leadership aligned with whole-of-economy AI policy led by Department of Industry, Science and Resources, and tailored guidance building on the National AI Centre’s advice;
- There’s a lack of guidance around ethical, safe and responsible AI implementation in health. We could use guidance and support on which settings are suitable for AI use, dataset relevance and use, monitoring output accuracy, appropriate product selection, and implementation in health settings;
- People need: “A centralised, high-quality and trusted information source” to make decisions about AI in healthcare;
- There’s a lack of evidence for the potential benefits of AI in healthcare;
- There needs to be clear rules about data and consent.
- Best-practice AI development needs to be incentivised to avoid low-quality products.
“The department is responsible for setting standards of care for aged care and should consider the impact of AI on standards compliance,” the review noted.
Also in today’s edition:
- Dementia death gap drives push for ‘Hem’s Law’
- Pfizer, DoHDA talks stall as PBS listing times blow out to almost two years
- No answers on SDPR delay at Hunter New England LHD
- St Vinnie’s group CDO quits for university role
- Psychology workforce shortfall to nearly double by 2038, federal modelling shows
- More than 1900 staff onboarded for NBH transition
- National data collection on mental health stigma underway
It also said the department was liaising with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency on clinicians’ professional responsibility and liability in respect of the use of AI.
“The department should ensure the statutory frameworks within its scope which impact professional regulation, such as the Professional Services Review Scheme and compliance with billing requirements, reflect nascent AI norms,” the review said.
The audit is due for completion in September. Contributions are welcomed and accepted until Sunday 26 April 2026.
