St Vincent’s has called on the Australian Government to prioritise health and aged care in its AI standards and infrastructure policies, warning that Australia risks becoming dependent on overseas technology providers without greater investment in local capability.
In a submission to the Australian Government’s consultation on AI standards and frontier AI infrastructure, the national health and aged care provider said Australia had an opportunity to become a global leader in healthcare AI, supported by its population health datasets, clinical expertise and established healthcare institutions.
St Vincent’s said public trust, patient safety and Australia’s future health innovation capability depended on getting the regulatory settings right from the outset.
It warned that without appropriate investment, procurement and policy settings, Australia could lose the opportunity to develop its own AI technologies and become increasingly reliant on overseas providers.
St Vincent’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Chris Robinson said governments should use procurement policies, investment mechanisms and research partnerships to support local AI development and its adoption across health and aged care.
“Just as electricity transformed industries in the early 20th century, AI has the potential to fundamentally reshape how health and aged care are delivered,” Dr Robinson said.
“By combining technology with the expertise of clinicians, we can reimagine what accessible, high-quality care looks like for all Australians, whether that’s care provided in hospitals, community settings or home.
“Australia should be ambitious, building on areas where we already have internationally recognised strengths to lead the next generation of healthcare innovation.”
Dr Robinson said Australia faced a choice between developing its own healthcare AI capability and purchasing technologies developed overseas.
“Australia has a closing window of opportunity to secure a role in AI development and provision as it becomes integral to health and aged care,” he said.
“Healthcare is one of the areas that offers the strongest opportunities because of a long running universal healthcare system with national programs and population datasets.
“How we approach our decision-making around these opportunities matters. The real choice Australian governments, agencies, and businesses have is to ‘build or buy’.
“The ‘build’ path enables the development of local capability and superior performance utilising Australia’s own population health data.
“The ‘buy’ path – buying into overseas AI health models – risks hollowing out local capability and creating dependency on foreign companies.”
St Vincent’s also recommended placing public-interest obligations on companies developing AI in Australia, including contributions to health and aged care research focused on underserved populations.
Dr Robinson said government intervention was needed to ensure AI investment addressed healthcare needs rather than being driven solely by commercial returns.
“Left solely to market forces, AI investment will flow to areas delivering the greatest commercial return, not necessarily where Australians need it most,” he said.
“There are also risks that the benefits of AI developments in healthcare flow first to people who are already healthy, well-off and digitally confident, and that people who find healthcare hardest to reach will not be included in system design.
“Research contributions should prioritise people who are most at risk, but often overlooked by traditional healthcare settings, such as people experiencing homelessness, or people living with complex health conditions.
“We recommend setting parameters which encourage innovation that doesn’t leave people behind, and which doesn’t simply entrench existing commercial interests.”
Dr Robinson said decisions about data, infrastructure, procurement and research investment would determine Australia’s future role in healthcare AI.
“Australia has an opportunity to become a global leader in responsible healthcare AI, but that opportunity will not remain open indefinitely.
“The decisions governments make today about data, infrastructure, procurement and research investment will determine whether Australia helps build the next generation of healthcare AI or simply imports it from elsewhere.”
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