The AIIA’s 2025–2026 Pre-Budget Submission highlights that while nations like Canada and Singapore have recently committed $2.7 billion and $5 billion respectively towards AI development and adoption, the Australian Government’s so far has avoided making any significant investments.
Compounding this issue, the AIIA understands that not a single AI-focused research project will receive any funding from the 2026 Australian Research Council Centre of Excellent (CoE) grants, exposing a fundamental flaw in Australia’s approach to supporting AI innovation.
The AIIA is calling for urgent corrective action in the Budget, including the establishment of a dedicated AI Centre of Excellence, with at least $150 million in initial funding to ensure Australian businesses and researchers remain globally competitive.
The AIIA CEO Simon Bush said, “Australia is already falling behind in AI adoption, so the Budget presents an urgent opportunity to provide meaningful funding for AI research through a dedicated and well-funded AI CoE that has industry support and focused on translating research into commercialisation and adoption.
“Without significant investment, we risk becoming an unattractive destination for technology businesses, leading to lower productivity and economic stagnation and loss of deep research AI skills,”
“The Albanese Government needs to urgently rectify this, or risk Australia being left behind in the global AI race,” Mr Bush said.
AIIA Calls for Strategic Investment in AI and Digital Future
It recently released a comprehensive set of recommendations for the upcoming federal budget, urging the government to make significant strides in advancing artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation across the nation.
The proposals aim to position Australia as a global leader in AI while fostering economic growth, improving public services, and supporting sustainability.
One of the key recommendations from the AIIA is the acceleration of the National AI Capability Plan, with a focus on ensuring that critical recommendations are included in the 2026-2027 budget cycle.
The AIIA is also calling for the creation of an AI Centre of Excellence, dedicated to funding fundamental research and commercialisation of AI technologies.
The centre would operate independently from the existing ARC grant process, addressing current limitations and supporting the development of cutting-edge solutions in AI.
