Australia needs a regulatory framework that will build public confidence in data and technology and make it easier to unlock the benefits offered by new technology and artificial intelligence (AI). The right regulatory framework is an important element that will enable Australia to harness the potential of data and digital technology. 

This submission highlights that Australia's regulatory approach – which focuses on a series of specific issues – has come at the cost of updating general, underlying data and consumer frameworks. This is creating regulatory complexity and burdens, without increased effectiveness. This submission endorses a shift in approach to digital regulation that is more outcomes-based and positively framed across all areas of digital reform. It explores what outcomes-based and positively framed regulation could look like across privacy, AI and platform regulation.

This submission addresses three of the four policy reform areas in the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into
Pillar 3: Harnessing data and digital technology:

• support safe data access and handling through an outcomes-based approach to privacy
• unlock the benefits of consumer data through effective access rights and controls
• enable AI’s productivity potential.