# Proposals paper: introducing mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings (Australia)

- **Record type**: Policy instrument
- **Jurisdiction**: Australia
- **Instrument type**: Consultation
- **Status**: Under consultation
- **Binding**: No — guidance, strategy or standard
- **Issuing body**: Department of Industry, Science and Resources
- **Published**: 2024-09-05

## In brief

The Australian mandatory guardrails proposal is a non-binding consultation of Australia, issued by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. It has been under consultation since 5 September 2024. A consultation document, not law. Penalties: None; consultation. Every record here links to its official source and states its verification status.

## Summary

The proposals paper sought views on ten mandatory guardrails for developers and deployers of AI in high-risk settings, a principles-based definition of high-risk AI (with general-purpose AI treated as high-risk), and three regulatory options: adapting existing laws, framework legislation, or a new cross-economy AI Act. The guardrails mirror the Voluntary AI Safety Standard, covering accountability, risk management, data governance, testing, human control, transparency, contestability, supply-chain transparency, records, and conformity assessment.

## Scope

A consultation document, not law. If adopted, the guardrails would apply to organisations developing or deploying AI in high-risk settings in Australia.

## Who it applies to

Prospectively, developers and deployers of high-risk AI in Australia; currently no one.

## What organisations must do

Nothing yet. Organisations can prepare by adopting the Voluntary AI Safety Standard, whose guardrails match the proposed mandatory ones.

## Key dates

Published 5 September 2024; submissions closed 4 October 2024; government response pending at last check.

## Penalties

None; consultation.

## Dated deadlines

- 2024-10-04 — Consultation closed (precision: exact, status: scheduled)
- date not set — Government decision on regulatory option (precision: tbd, status: scheduled)

## Provenance

- **Permanent id**: AIPT-POL-0019 (https://aipolicytracker.org/id/AIPT-POL-0019; never changes or gets reused)
- **Record page**: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/australia-mandatory-guardrails-proposal
- **Official source**: https://consult.industry.gov.au/ai-mandatory-guardrails
- **Source document**: Proposals paper for introducing mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings
- **Published by**: Australian Government, Department of Industry, Science and Resources
- **Review status**: verified
- **Confidence**: medium
- **Facts last confirmed**: 2026-09-26
- **Confirmed by**: Bhaskar Bhatt (see https://aipolicytracker.org/reviewers)
- **Retrieved**: 2026-10-27
- **Licence**: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- **Cite as**: AIPolicyTracker (2026). "Proposals paper: introducing mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings (Australia)" [AIPT-POL-0019, record version 1, verified 26 September 2026 by Bhaskar Bhatt]. https://aipolicytracker.org/id/AIPT-POL-0019 (accessed 27 October 2026).

> This record is a structured summary with a link to the official text. It is not legal advice. Open the official source before relying on any date or duty. How current each record type must be is published at https://aipolicytracker.org/verification; what a record must carry at all is published at https://aipolicytracker.org/coverage.