South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas launched a Royal Commission on Monday, the first inquiry of its kind by an Australian state, to examine the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence. Three international commissioners will investigate effects on jobs, schools and hospitals starting in October and deliver a report by July 1, 2027. The commission will cost roughly three million Australian dollars.
Commission to examine labor market, education and data centers
A Royal Commission is the highest form of government inquiry under Australian law, equipped with far-reaching investigative powers – including the ability to summon witnesses and access documents – that governments reserve for especially significant societal issues. Malinauskas announced that three commissioners would be recruited through an international search; the government says it will publish the exact terms of reference only in four to six weeks. The state government is deliberately selecting the three experts internationally to bring in legal and economic policy expertise alongside technical knowledge.
As SBS News reports, the commission will examine from October how artificial intelligence is changing jobs, what consequences it has for schools and universities, and how the energy and water consumption of the data centers it requires affects the state’s infrastructure. The health sector and creative industries are also part of the mandate. The final report is due by July 1, 2027, and the estimated cost is roughly three million Australian dollars (not independently verified) – about 1.7 million euros.
Malinauskas meets OpenAI and Anthropic before the announcement
The announcement followed a trip by the premier to the United States. There, he visited OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco and, according to The Epoch Times, signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman. Malinauskas also met Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown and representatives from Apple.
The premier said unchecked artificial intelligence poses a significant risk to the fabric of society and that the state must help shape the rules rather than leaving development entirely to private companies. South Australia is thereby positioning itself as the first Australian state to launch such a comprehensive inquiry dedicated specifically to AI – Australia currently has no comparable national AI law. The state government also wants the commission to examine what economic opportunities exist for local AI startups. South Australia already courts investment in other future industries such as space and defense technology; the state government also sees the AI commission as a signal to further companies in the sector.
Researchers doubt individual states’ ability to regulate
Reactions from academia are mixed. Anton van den Hengel of the Australian Institute for Machine Learning in Adelaide welcomed the initiative, pointing to the state’s existing startup scene, which he said could benefit from a thorough inquiry. Toby Walsh of the AI institute at the University of New South Wales was more cautious: he welcomed the closer scrutiny but doubted that a single Australian state could effectively regulate a globally operating technology – concerns similar to those repeatedly raised about purely national efforts versus EU-wide or federal rules. Neither researcher is directly involved in the commission; their assessments came immediately after the announcement.
So far, Australia regulates artificial intelligence mainly through industry-specific guidelines and a voluntary federal AI safety framework; a comprehensive AI law modeled on the EU’s – whose transparency obligations under the AI Act have applied since August 2, 2026 – does not exist. Observers therefore also view the South Australian initiative as a test of whether individual states could fill the emerging regulatory vacuum.
What remains open above all is how much weight a report without legal force will ultimately carry: a Royal Commission can issue recommendations, but South Australia’s parliament alone decides whether to implement them. What matters, then, is whom the government appoints as commissioners and whether their mandate extends beyond symbolic positioning. The appointments expected in the coming four to six weeks should offer the first clues to where South Australia’s AI policy is actually heading.
