Rules Mate

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AI governance readiness

Australia's Voluntary AI Safety Standard sets out 10 guardrails for organisations that develop or deploy AI — voluntary, and meant to be applied now. This tool scores your program against the guardrails, triages whether your use is high-risk (where mandatory guardrails are proposed), and prioritises gaps by severity.

Last verified: 1 July 2026
Deployment profile
High-risk triage
10 voluntary guardrails

Accountability and governance

Guardrail 1 — a named accountable owner, an AI strategy, and staff training for responsible AI.

Risk management process

Guardrail 2 — a documented process to identify and mitigate AI risks across the lifecycle.

Data governance and protection

Guardrail 3 — protect AI systems and manage data quality and provenance.

Testing and monitoring

Guardrail 4 — test models and systems before deployment and monitor them once deployed.

Human control and oversight

Guardrail 5 — enable meaningful human control or intervention across the AI lifecycle.

End-user transparency

Guardrail 6 — inform end-users of AI-enabled decisions, AI interactions and AI-generated content.

Contestability of outcomes

Guardrail 7 — a process for people impacted by AI to challenge its use or outcomes.

Supply chain transparency

Guardrail 8 — be transparent with others across the AI supply chain about data, models and systems.

Record keeping

Guardrail 9 — keep records so third parties can assess compliance.

Stakeholder engagement

Guardrail 10 — engage stakeholders, with a focus on safety, diversity, inclusion and fairness.

Reference tool — not professional advice. The AI Safety Standard is voluntary; mandatory guardrails for high-risk AI have been consulted on but confirm their current legislative status. Your specific obligations depend on how you develop or deploy AI and the context of use. Confirm material decisions with a qualified adviser.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the Voluntary AI Safety Standard?
In September 2024 the Australian Government (Department of Industry, Science and Resources) published the Voluntary AI Safety Standard — 10 voluntary guardrails for organisations that develop or deploy AI systems, designed to be applied now. It is voluntary, not law.
Are the AI guardrails mandatory?
The 10 guardrails in the standard are voluntary. Separately, the government has consulted on mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings (a proposals paper). Mandatory rules are proposed and expected for high-risk uses — confirm the current legislative status before relying on voluntary status alone.
What counts as a high-risk AI use?
High-impact contexts that affect people's rights, safety or access to services — for example AI used in employment, credit, health or essential services, and biometric or surveillance uses. This tool flags these because proposed mandatory guardrails would likely apply and stricter, verifiable controls are expected.
What are the 10 guardrails?
Accountability and governance; a risk management process; data governance and protection; testing and monitoring; human control; end-user transparency; contestability; supply-chain transparency; record keeping; and stakeholder engagement with a focus on safety, diversity, inclusion and fairness.

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