Australian public servants demand pause on automated decision-making

Members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) have voted overwhelmingly to demand an immediate pause on the use of complex automated decision-making (ADM) within the Australian Public Service. In a recent town hall meeting, 98 percent of participating members supported the motion to halt these technologies until the federal government establishes clear, mandatory safeguards and official guidelines.

Public servants from various agencies—including the Australian Taxation Office, Services Australia, the National Disability Insurance Agency, the Department of Health and Aged Care, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs—expressed significant concerns regarding the impact of algorithms on vulnerable citizens. They highlighted the risk of algorithms determining levels of support with insufficient human intervention, citing the ‘Robodebt’ scheme as a cautionary example of the dangers of unregulated automated systems.

Transparency remains a critical issue, with over one-third of members reporting they were unaware if ADM was being utilized within their specific departments. This follows a review by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner which found limited disclosure regarding ADM use across federal agencies; currently, only four out of 23 agencies with the authority to use such tools clearly state their use on their websites.