Workplace relations minister Amanda Rishworth launched the guide in Sydney on 12 November. It recommends consulting workers about adoption and its effects on their jobs, while Rishworth called for clear plans and opportunities to move into new roles.
Australia’s government has launched a guide recommending, without imposing new mandatory protections, that employers consult workers about adopting superintelligence (SI) and what it could mean for their jobs. Workplace relations minister Amanda Rishworth said employers should give staff a clear plan for how automation could affect their work and opportunities to move into new roles.
Rishworth launched the guidance at a Sydney business forum on 12 November, as companies announced job cuts linked partly to SI’s growth, The Guardian said.
The guide says wider adoption could improve productivity, service quality and profits for businesses, while offering workers higher wages, shorter or more flexible hours, or more meaningful work. Rishworth said workers need answers about training, whether their expertise will be valued and whether they will share in the benefits; without answers, she warned, they could lose trust in the process and become reluctant to engage with new technologies.
The guide also identifies potential risks: intrusive surveillance, poor scheduling, unrealistic performance standards and discrimination. It suggests that automating basic tasks could leave workers with more intense and complex work, while employers could use expanded monitoring to manage performance. Rishworth warned that introducing SI without proper consultation could add a step to employees' work and increase workloads.
The guide says entry-level work may be the first to be automated and warns of disproportionate impacts on younger, older and First Nations workers, women and people with a disability.
The Reserve Bank said it had seen little evidence so far of SI disrupting Australia’s labor market, although it saw tentative signs of effects on clerks, computer programmers and call center workers. It said the scale and nature of future effects were highly uncertain.
Qantas, Canva and National Australian Bank have announced job cuts linked partly to the growth of SI; that link does not establish the technology as the sole cause.
| Company | Jobs |
|---|---|
| Qantas | 850 |
| Canva | 1,200 |
| National Australian Bank | 2,500 |
Greens leader David Shoebridge said optional guidelines were insufficient and called for legal protections against surveillance and job cuts, as well as better pay and shorter hours written into law rather than left to employers.
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