At a glance
NSW opposition energy, AI and digital spokesman James Griffin unveils the Coalition's AI platform today, 27 July 2026, in a speech at EY in Sydney hosted with Business NSW.
The platform commits to a dedicated minister for artificial intelligence, an AI Solutions Fund co-investing with the AI and data centre sector, and legislated job protections for frontline workers.
Every agency would identify five AI process improvements annually, and each incoming minister would name three portfolio AI opportunities within 90 days of taking office.
NSW Labor's record: 15 data centre projects worth A$51.9 billion endorsed through the Investment Delivery Authority in March 2026.
Australian government data centre standards announced on 15 July 2026 are expected to be legislated in early 2027 and would be inherited by whichever party wins the NSW election in March 2027.
The plan, in six measures
NSW opposition energy, AI and digital spokesman James Griffin takes the Coalition's AI platform to a business audience at EY in Sydney today, writing on LinkedIn that he will "make the case for the bold adoption of AI across the NSW Government". The Australian, which previewed the platform on Sunday night, reports six measures:
A minister for artificial intelligence, responsible for driving AI adoption across government.
Legislated job protections for frontline public sector workers, naming nurses, police officers, teachers and social workers.
Agency AI mandates: every agency identifies five examples annually of where AI can improve processes.
Ministerial 90-day reviews: each new minister names three AI opportunities in their portfolio within 90 days of taking office.
An AI productivity dividend, with cost savings from AI counting toward each agency's efficiency dividend (a recurring budget savings target).
An AI Solutions Fund with a co-investment mechanism between government, the AI and data centre sector, and university researchers, funding public-interest AI development.
Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane, who took the Liberal leadership in November 2025, framed the platform around the workforce guarantee: "Our frontline workers are the backbone of NSW, and under a government I lead AI will be used to support them, not replace them."
The AI Solutions Fund would put data centre sector capital inside a state government co-investment vehicle, with disaster response and road congestion named as early use cases. Griffin's stated ambition is regional: "NSW should be leading the Asia-Pacific region in responsible use of AI, attracting investment and creating jobs while also ensuring a benefit to the community." No dollar figure for the fund has been disclosed.
Measure | Mechanism | Detail disclosed |
|---|---|---|
AI minister | New portfolio driving whole-of-government adoption | Portfolio holder not named |
Frontline job protections | Legislation covering nurses, police, teachers, social workers | Drafting not released |
Agency AI mandates | Five AI process improvements identified per agency, annually | Reporting mechanism not stated |
Ministerial reviews | Three portfolio AI opportunities within 90 days | Applies to each incoming minister |
AI productivity dividend | AI savings count toward agency efficiency dividends | No savings target published |
AI Solutions Fund | Co-investment with AI and data centre sector, universities | No fund size disclosed |
Source: The Australian, 26 July 2026.
Griffin has argued since February that NSW is losing data centre investment to Victoria
The fund and the minister formalise a case the opposition has run all year. In February 2026, a release under Sloane's name accused the government of Premier Chris Minns of "three critical failures" handing data centre investment to Victoria: an energy system that cannot guarantee scale or certainty, no coordinated digital infrastructure precinct strategy, and no whole-of-government AI strategy. That release cited TransGrid's disclosure of more than 10GW in data centre connection inquiries, the same queue behind TransGrid's proposal to make data centres fund the grid capacity they unlock.
This month, Griffin added the digital embassies pitch, offering NSW as a secure host for Pacific and allied government data, a state-level play for sovereign hosting of foreign government workloads. He has also used the Legislative Council's inquiry into data centres, where Certified Strategic lodged a submission, to argue the state's settings lag its pipeline. The platform bundles those arguments into specific commitments: a named minister, a co-investment fund and annual agency mandates, with the fund's size still undisclosed.
Labor points to A$51.9 billion in endorsed data centre projects
The Minns government contests the premise that NSW is losing the race. Through the Investment Delivery Authority, the state's fast-track assessment body for major investment proposals, it endorsed 15 data centre projects worth A$51.9 billion in March 2026, alongside 14 energy projects worth a potential A$34 billion. It rejected a further A$40.7 billion in proposals it judged premature or speculative. NSW has 90 operating data centres, according to the same release, and the government says data centre investment has grown 65 per cent annually on a three-year average. We examined the authority's approach in our analysis of how NSW is competing for data centre capital.
The government has also released the Infrastructure NSW data centre consultation paper, and publicly welcomed OpenAI's investment in NSW. OpenAI's Australian footprint now spans compute commitments and a Sydney presence.
On the workforce side, the two parties have each chosen a legislative instrument. NSW Labor legislated first, passing the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Act in February 2026, which law firm Pinsent Masons describes as making NSW the first state to address the safety risks digital work systems pose to workers. The duty requires employers to manage risks from AI and algorithmic systems, including "excessive or unreasonable workloads" and "excessive or unreasonable metrics" for tracking worker performance. Coalition shadow treasurer Scott Farlow criticised that bill at the time as "breathtakingly broad". The Coalition's alternative is a job guarantee scoped to frontline roles; how the platform treats back-office and administrative roles has not been stated.
Australian government standards arrive before the state vote
Both state platforms now sit under a national framework announced on 15 July 2026. The Albanese government's Australian standards for AI are, in their first tranche, largely data centre standards: a legal obligation for large data centres to supply their own power, bear full connection costs, support the grid during peak demand, and meet water efficiency requirements. A new Office of AI within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet will implement them. National Cabinet considers the standards in August 2026, with legislation expected in early 2027.
If that timetable holds, the standards would take effect shortly before NSW votes in March 2027, so either a returned Minns government or a Sloane government would administer state planning and energy settings inside the same national envelope. AI also ran through Labor's national conference in Adelaide, which ended on 25 July with motions including additional annual leave funded by AI productivity gains.
What to watch
Both major parties now carry detailed AI and data centre positions into the NSW election year.
The fund's size. Griffin's speech text and any accompanying policy document should disclose the AI Solutions Fund's scale, governance and investment criteria, none of which has been released.
National Cabinet in August 2026. First ministers consider the Australian government's data centre standards, which set the power, grid and water obligations both NSW parties would administer.
The Legislative Council inquiry. The data centre inquiry's report will land in the middle of this contest, with submissions from operators, agencies and this publication on the record.
The consultation outcomes. Infrastructure NSW's paper closes the loop on energy, water and air quality settings for the state's 90 operating facilities and its endorsed pipeline.
The election itself. NSW votes on 27 March 2027, with A$51.9 billion in endorsed data centre projects proceeding through the Investment Delivery Authority in the meantime.