Artificial intelligence is already influencing how work is performed, how decisions are made, and how risk is managed across government. Much of this activity is occurring without consistent guidance, shared understanding, or formal governance. As the Australian Public Service seeks to uplift AI maturity through coordinated action across trust, people and tools, leaders face a new responsibility. They must ensure decisions about the use, limitation, or non-use of AI are deliberate, ethical, and aligned with public sector obligations.
For many government and high-security organisations, the challenge is not simply whether AI is present, but whether leaders and staff have a shared and defensible understanding of what AI is and is not, where its use is appropriate, restricted, or prohibited, and how privacy, security, ethics, and accountability are managed in practice. This diagnostic supports senior leaders and managers to assess their organisation's current position and readiness to make informed decisions about AI use.