Australian Banks Say ‘National AI Stack’ Crucial for Economic Security
The Australian Financial Review
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Details
- Date Published
- 9 Oct 2026
- Priority Score
- 3
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 10 Oct 2026, 08:00 am
Description
AI policy should ensure Australia develops sovereign capability to train and run the latest models in data centres on-shore, despite questions about Firmus.
Summary
Major Australian financial institutions are advocating for the Albanese government to prioritize sovereign AI capacity by hosting and training frontier models within domestic data centers. This push for a 'national AI stack' is framed as a matter of economic and national security to ensure Australia retains the benefits of advanced AI rather than ceding control to overseas entities. While primarily focused on economic sovereignty, the proposal highlights the critical intersection of infrastructure control and the oversight of powerful AI models. Establishing on-shore capability for the 'latest models' has significant implications for how Australia might implement safety guardrails and governance frameworks for frontier AI systems.
Body
CompaniesFinancial ServicesAIPrint articleJames EyersSenior ReporterOct 9, 2026 – 5.15pmThe country’s largest banks say bringing the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence models to train and run in Australian data centres must be a key part of the Albanese government’s strategy, warning that economic gains from the powerful technology will otherwise accrue overseas.Appearing at a parliamentary inquiry on Friday afternoon, Westpac chief AI officer Dan Jermyn said investing in “long-term sovereign AI capacity” should be “at the centre of Australia’s AI strategy”, amid concerns that much of the benefits of the new tools would instead flow to the United States.Loading...SaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? LoginLicense articleRead MoreAIBig fourCommonwealth BankNational Australia BankWestpac Banking CorporationMatt ComynSimon BirminghamNational securityCybersecurityAnthropicOpenAIAndrew CharltonAFR WeekendFetching latest articles