At the Department of Health and Aged Care, the work we do shapes health, aged care and sport policy, programs and research in Australia. Our work involves: 

• awareness and education 
• consultation and engagement 
• grants and tenders 
• initiatives and programs 
• administration of legislation 
• policy 
• regulation and compliance 
• research

Our department is led by 7 groups:

• Ageing and Aged Care Group 
• The Ageing and Aged Care Group guides and influences the direction of ageing and aged care, developing policy and implementing programs in collaboration with the sector through co-design. 
• Chief Medical Officer Group
• The Chief Medical Officer Group is made up of the principal medical advisers to the Minister for Health and the department. 
• Corporate Operations Group
• The Corporate Operations Group delivers a broad range of end-to-end ministerial support services, HR, Communication, ICT, Finance, our state network, law, assurance and managing the Budget process for the department. 
• Health Products Regulation Group 
• The Health Products Regulation Group (HPRG/TGA) looks after the regulation of therapeutic goods and certain controlled drugs and drug substances to ensure these products do not put Australians' health and safety at risk.  
• Health Resourcing Group
• The Health Resourcing Group oversees medical benefits, technology assessment and access, the health workforce, benefits integrity, digital health and the national COVID-19 vaccine program.
• Health Strategy, First Nations and Sport 
• The Health Strategy, First Nations and Sport Group oversees strategic policy and relations, health economics and research, sport and First Nations health.
• Primary and Community Care Group
• The Primary and Community Care Group is ​​​​​​​responsible for leading the department’s work on policies and programs relating to mental health, primary care, population health, prevention and cancer, hearing and chronic conditions. 

Project: Foundational Models - Does Australia Need to Develop Sovereign Capability?

Summary

An AI model that can be used to perform a wide range of activities and is trained on massive amounts of data is called a foundation model. Large language models, or "LLMs," are currently the state-of-the-art foundation models at the moment. These models are trained to comprehend and produce human language. A number of state-of-the-art foundation models are already "multimodal," meaning they can comprehend and produce sounds, visuals, robotic movements, etc. However, there are also concerns associated with things like discrimination, data breaches, false information, security risks, over-reliance, harm to the workforce, and unequal access.

The government needs to carefully assess how to employ foundation models in the public sector in a responsible and productive way as AI technologies progress quickly. Australia will need to maintain its competitiveness in the global market as AI investments rise, given the increasing scope of AI capabilities and AI-enabled activities. AI will be essential to healthcare in achieving strategic goals and sustaining a strong, flexible, and healthcare workforce. A sovereign AI capacity supports the Department of Health and Aged Care’s future operations and training capabilities as well as Australia's participation in an important 21st-century industry.

The question this research project aims to answer is - does Australia need to develop sovereign capability? If so, how? What are the potential benefits and challenges in having sovereign capability? What are international jurisdictions currently doing and can their approach be adapted for Australia? For example, are they partnering with researchers and industry?