DPS AI Transparency Statement


Introduction

The Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) is committed to the responsible and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.

This AI transparency statement outlines DPS' approach to AI, including:

  • intentions behind DPS AI use
  • classification of DPS AI use, including where AI interacts with or impacts the public
  • measures to monitor the effectiveness of DPS AI use
  • compliance with the DTA policy for the responsible use of AI in Government
  • DPS efforts to identify and protect the public against negative impacts, and
  • when the DPS AI transparency statement was last updated.

AI Adoption and Use

DPS is the ICT service provider to the Parliament, the parliamentary departments and Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS). As such, DPS plays a central role in ensuring the responsible and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies within the Parliament.

To foster an environment where the use of AI can provide support to staff and clients, DPS is committed to continuous learning and adaptation, making sure that its AI strategies evolve alongside the changing needs of the Parliament, technological advancements and legislation or regulatory changes.

DPS’ integration of AI into its operations and the operations of the Parliament is guided by:

DPS’ approach to the adoption of AI is designed to:

  • align with the Parliament of Australia Digital Strategy 2023-2027
  • meet DPS clients and staff expectations for modern ICT experiences
  • reduce the risk associated with the use of AI by the Parliament
  • support innovation and unlocking new value using AI, and
  • support whole-of-government direction and policy on the use of AI.

How DPS uses AI

DPS has adopted the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) definition of what constitutes artificial intelligence.

DPS is committed to being transparent about its use of AI. DPS will ensure it is obvious to individuals if: 

  • they are interacting with an AI system, such as an AI chatbot, or 
  • the content is completely AI produced, without human review.

Table 1, below, shows DPS AI use based on the DTA classification system for AI.

Domains Usage patterns
Analytics for insights Decision making and administrative action Image processing Workplace productivity
Compliance and fraud detection Internal use   Internal use  
Corporate and enabling Internal use     Internal use
Scientific        
Service delivery Internal use     Public facing and internal use
Policy and legal       Internal use

Table 1 - DPS AI use classification.

Under the Strategic Framework for the Parliamentary Service (Strategic Framework), the parliamentary departments are committed to enhance engagement in the work of the Parliament.

As part of meeting this commitment, DPS employs AI as part of assistive technologies to make engagement with the work of the Parliament more accessible; DPS uses AI to generate captions and support website accessibility.

How AI is managed by DPS

The parliamentary departments and PWSS intend to meet the requirements under the DTA responsible use of AI for Government policy through a shared responsibility model.

The shared responsibility model recognises:

  • each organisation is independent, but share a common service provider, DPS,  who provides the core ICT services for the Parliament, and
  • the use of AI by an individual or group within the Parliament may impact other individuals, groups, organisations or the Parliament as a whole; therefore, collaboration is essential.

The shared responsibility model is managed by an AI working group composed of one or more representatives from each organisation, and coordinated by DPS ICT.

The AI working group is responsible for:

  • meeting DTA AI policy requirements
  • building AI maturity and align to relevant best practice, legislation, regulation and whole-of-government direction and policy
  • maintaining a central register of AI use cases for the Parliament, and
  • managing the Parliaments shared responsibility model for AI.

AI Safety and Monitoring

DPS uses AI training to support staff and clients to use AI safely and responsibly.

DPS has configured a caution splash screen to remind users to consider the relevant DTA AI guidance when using public generative AI tools.

DPS employs the Australian Government AI assurance framework to support the safe and ethical use of AI. DPS monitors, logs and reports on the use of:

  • DPS managed AI solutions, and
  • third-party AI used by the Parliament.

Any users of Parliamentary ICT resources that wish to adopt and use AI are required to:

  • report new AI use cases or requests to use AI to DPS ICT service desk
  • notify DPS ICT and following departmental approval and change management processes before using AI
  • undertake testing to evaluate whether AI is suitable for the intended use case
  • monitor and assess the value and effectiveness of adopted AI solutions against their use case, and adjust as necessary
  • maintain legal and regulatory compliance
  • report unintended outcomes, faults or negative impacts from AI use to DPS ICT service desk, and
  • report if sensitive information is inadvertently entered into generative AI tools or services to DPS Cyber Security.

Compliance with the policy for the responsible use of AI in government

Accountable official

The DPS CIO was appointed as the DPS accountable official on 30 September 2024, following the DTA standard for accountable officials. The DPS CIO is accountable for:

  • implementation of the DTA policy for the responsible use of AI in the Parliament
  • reporting new high-risk use cases identified by DPS to the DTA via email to ai@dta.gov.au
  • acting as the DPS contact point for whole-of-government coordination
  • engaging with whole-of-government AI forums and processes
  • keeping up to date with changing requirements, and
  • driving engagement with AI training by DPS staff and within Parliamentarian’s offices.

Training and Education

AI fundamentals training has been made available to the staff of the parliamentary departments, parliamentarians and their staff and the PWSS. The ongoing training and education requirements will be coordinated by the parliamentary departments and PWSS AI working group.

Review and Updates

This transparency statement will be reviewed annually or when significant changes to the use or governance of AI use occur.

This statement was last updated on 21 February 2025.

Contact

To enquire about AI and its use within the Parliament, please contact DPS ICT service desk.