Bring staff in before the AI tool, says draft government guide

If your boss hands you an AI tool and simply tells you to use it, the federal government thinks they’re doing it wrong.

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth released a draft Best Practice Guide on the Adoption of AI in the Workplace on 12 November. Its message is simple: involve the people who’ll use AI before you roll it out.

AAP describes the guidelines as voluntary. It’s the first time the government has set out what it thinks good AI adoption at work looks like. Anyone can comment on the draft until 27 January 2027.

Eight principles, three themes

The guide is underpinned by three themes, Plan, Enable and Embed. It sets out eight practical principles:

1. Capturing the opportunity
2. Identifying use cases and assessing workplace readiness
3. Cooperative planning and worker engagement
4. Designing work and jobs
5. Building capability
6. Managing workforce transformation
7. Establishing AI governance
8. Proactively managing risks and work health and safety

In her speech to the AFR AI Forum, Rishworth called the themes three pillars and explained each one.

Plan means getting clear on what the organisation is trying to achieve. That could mean co-designing with staff to find the pain points in their jobs. Where that isn’t possible, it could mean genuine consultation on how AI is introduced and used.

Enable is about skills. Workers and managers need confidence with the tools, and leaders need the ability to run the change.

Embed is the part after launch, because adoption “is not set-and-forget”. Risks to watch include intrusive surveillance, inappropriate performance monitoring and unreasonable work intensification. The minister wants those dealt with early, in consultation with workers.

Why “bolt-on” AI flops

Rishworth gave an example of what not to do. A customer service assistant at a major corporation told her their employer took a “bolt on” approach. Staff were simply told to start using a particular AI tool, with little discussion of what problem it was meant to solve.

The tool created more work for the team, and most of them gave up on it. Earlier in the speech, Rishworth put it plainly: “simply purchasing an AI tool doesn’t automatically mean that companies will get the benefits of AI.”

Her case for the opposite approach is that consulting workers before the technology is deployed delivers better outcomes for businesses and staff. The draft was built from roundtables and forums with unions, employer groups, academics, small businesses and large employers. Microsoft, Commonwealth Bank, Telstra, Kmart, Blackmores and Ramsay Health Care took part.

What it looked like in practice

The release highlights three case studies from the guide:

• Blackmores Group worked with its employees to explore how AI could improve its business processes. An AI-enabled solution cut a manual data-entry job from 3 days to 10 minutes.
• Brisbane Catholic Education ran pilots, consultation and training. It reports AI has helped 71% of its educators save time on administration.
• Commonwealth Bank has used AI for workforce development. More than 32,000 employees have used its personalised career, skills and learning tools.

Rishworth also described how Commonwealth Bank maps workers’ existing roles against core tasks and skills. The bank then gives them a pathway into areas of growing demand if AI changes their job.

Jobs, trust and the critics

On jobs, the minister said current research indicates AI is much more likely to augment roles than automate them in the medium term. “We understand some roles may be automated,” she added. Where that happens, businesses should look at how to keep using those workers’ skills and experience.

Employers aren’t all convinced. AAP reported that Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar criticised the guide. He said its repeated calls for engagement with workers “before a decision is made” sit uneasily with the reality of running a business.

The guide sits alongside the National AI Centre’s existing guidance for AI adoption, which covers technical implementation and governance. This one tackles a different challenge: the workforce.

If you’re writing house rules for AI at work, our AI use policy template for small businesses is a starting point. If monitoring staff is part of your plans, read our story on the UTS report on workplace surveillance first.

Have your say by 27 January

The draft is open for public consultation through the department’s consultation hub until 27 January 2027. The government will also keep working with its AI Employment and Workplaces Forum of employers, unions and experts to make sure the draft is fit for purpose.

Checklist

• Name the problem before the tool. Write down the specific slow or repetitive task an AI tool is meant to fix before you buy or roll it out.
• Ask the people who do the work. Get the staff closest to that task to point out where time is lost, and how AI could help.
• Plan training for managers too. Budget time for staff to learn the tool, and for managers to learn to lead the change.
• Check for monitoring creep. Before switching on any AI that tracks staff activity or performance, talk it through with the team it affects.
• Have a plan for changed roles. If AI will take over tasks, map which skills those staff have and where else they could be used.
• Comment on the draft by 27 January 2027. The Best Practice Guide on the Adoption of AI in the Workplace is open for feedback on the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations consultation hub at consultations.dewr.gov.au.