We use artificial intelligence (AI) in carefully managed and transparent ways to support our role as Australia’s independent economic regulator accelerating carbon abatement.
We use AI to improve the quality, efficiency and integrity of our regulatory functions. AI helps us analyse data, detect anomalies, and streamline internal processes. All decisions that affect people, organisations or scheme eligibility are made by Clean Energy Regulator staff, not AI.
We review this statement at least once a year, updating it as our AI use matures.
How we use AI
We'll consider AI use to provide analytics for and insights into the schemes we regulate on behalf of the Australian Government. We're using, developing and considering AI in the following usage patterns and domains.
We're using, developing and considering AI in line with common Australian Government AI usage patterns and domains. See the classification system for AI use for more information.
Usage patterns
Workplace productivity
We allow our staff to use AI in their work with the objective of enhancing productivity and service delivery. This includes enterprise AI deployed in our internal ICT environment like Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Our staff use AI to:
- assist in the creation of government documents
- assist with research and analysis
- summarise data across multiple sources
- interrogate, analyse and obtain insights from datasets
- answer questions from staff regarding workplace policies, procedures and processes
- assist in the analysis, creation or summarisation of documents, emails or other content
- create and debug code used in data analysis, management and processing
- assist in the creation of meeting minutes or interview transcripts
- search information repositories and retrieve documents, information or data.
Image processing
We're developing AI assisted image analysis to support compliance reviews, subject to human review and confirmation.
Domains
Service delivery
We're investigating the use of AI to support our staff to:
- assist with routine administrative tasks and information analysis
- improve collaboration and documentation practices
- support efficient drafting of standard content, subject to human review.
Compliance and fraud detection
We're developing:
- AI tools to spot unusual patterns that may indicate non-compliance or fraud
- AI under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) to support compliance monitoring, including identifying potentially non-compliant claims or data discrepancies for human review.
Corporate and enabling
We're investigating the use of AI to support corporate functions, including HR, finance, media and communications, and IT to improve operational efficiency.
Transparency
We're committed to open communication about our AI use. AI contributes to information or insights but does not make regulatory decisions. Any AI derived advice that affects people or regulated entities is reviewed and approved by trained Clean Energy Regulator staff.
We won't deploy public facing AI without user disclosure, a clear human in the loop escalation path, defined accuracy safeguards and accessibility consideration.
How we assess and manage risks
We assess and monitor all AI systems to ensure they are safe, transparent and appropriate for our regulatory responsibilities. Our risk and assurance approach includes:
- completing a risk-based AI suitability assessment before any development or deployment
- testing and evaluating AI systems against agreed risk controls and thresholds before they are used
- monitoring the effectiveness of deployed AI systems on an ongoing basis and subsequent reassessments are conducted periodically or when triggered by significant changes such as model updates, new data sources, or incidents
- applying stronger safeguards for higher risk use cases
- pausing or discontinuing use if risk thresholds, accuracy metrics or safeguards are not met.
We'll maintain an AI Use Case Register that describes each use case and corresponding risk-based AI suitability assessment. The register will be updated when new use cases are approved for deployment or when material changes occur.
This process aligns with the Australian Government Policy for the Responsible Use of AI in Government and incorporates additional oversight for higher risk or higher impact AI use.
Ethical principles
We're committed to the ethical use of AI. Our systems are developed and deployed with fairness, accountability, privacy, protection, security, reliability, safety, contestability and transparency in mind. We review our practices regularly to ensure they meet ethical standards and do not introduce bias or discrimination.
To protect the public and scheme integrity, we won't:
- automate compliance, enforcement or eligibility decisions without human review and approval
- train or prompt AI systems with sensitive or personal information unless expressly assessed and approved (for example, through a privacy impact assessment and security review)
- generate or issue regulatory notices or legal instruments without human validation and sign off
- use generative AI to produce forecasting or analytical outputs without human validation, provenance controls and audit capture.
Staff capability and training
We build staff AI capability through a community of practice, supporting knowledge sharing and safe adoption, and through targeted training such as prompt engineering skills aligned to our regulatory purpose. These activities ensure staff can use AI confidently, responsibly, effectively and in ways that strengthen our regulatory functions.
All Clean Energy Regulator staff are required to complete mandatory training on the responsible use of AI in line with the Policy for the Responsible Use of AI in Government. Staff with access to agency approved enterprise-wide AI systems such as Copilot are required to complete additional training and to read and accept updated ICT conditions of use. Additional specialist training is provided for staff who procure, develop or manage AI systems.
Legislative, policy and standards commitments
Our AI use is governed by Australian Government legislation and policy. We commit to comply with, and be guided by, the following (as applicable):
- Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles
- Freedom of Information Act 1982
- Archives Act 1983
- Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013
- Protective Security Policy Framework
- Information Security Manual
- Australia’s AI Ethics Principles
- Policy for the Responsible Use of AI in Government.
Governance
We have matured our governance arrangements to ensure strong oversight of AI, in line with the Policy for the Responsible Use of AI in Government.
- Overall accountability rests with the Clean Energy Regulator Chair, as Accountable Authority.
- The Senior Leadership Team provides executive oversight of AI risk, compliance and outcomes.
Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer
In July 2025, we appointed a Chief AI Officer (CAIO) to lead AI capability uplift, maturity, and responsible adoption of AI across the agency.
The CAIO:
- oversees implementation of AI initiatives
- provides guidance on risk, ethics, security and compliance in the use of AI
- develops and reviews measures to monitor AI effectiveness
- ensures our alignment with Australian public service wide AI policy requirements.
Governance committees
All AI initiatives progress through our established governance and change pathways. The Technology Strategy and Change Committee (TSCC) is the primary oversight body for AI across the agency.
The TSCC:
- provides whole of agency oversight of AI use
- advises the Senior Leadership Team on the impacts of AI enabled initiatives
- oversees the AI Use Case Suitability Assessment process.
The TSCC is chaired by the General Manager of Transformation and Chief Data Officer and includes AI accountable officials as members, providing collective oversight of our AI initiatives.
Accountable officials
Our accountable officials for AI are:
- Chief Data Officer
- Chief Risk Officer
- Chief Information Officer
- Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer.
These officials share responsibility for:
- assessing internal AI proposals
- managing risks associated with the use of AI
- implementing the Policy for the Responsible Use of AI in Government
- ensuring the safe deployment of AI tools
- conducting ongoing reviews of the suitability and appropriateness of AI use over time.
Definition of AI
We use the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development definition of AI:
An AI system is a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments. Different AI systems vary in their levels of autonomy and adaptiveness after deployment.
More information
For questions about how we use AI, contact ai@cer.gov.au.