DIA calls for design to be recognised in Australia’s AI plans
The Design Institute of Australia made a submission on 9 October 2026 to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s consultation, Getting it right: Building AI infrastructure that works for Australia.
Australia can attract major investment in data centres and AI training without capturing a fair share of the economic value that follows. That value comes when research, models and computing power become useful products, services and Australian-owned intellectual property, and design is critical to that translation.
The submission sets out five priorities for Government:
Recognise design in Australia’s AI plans, including the design of how AI systems behave, alongside research, engineering and development.
Fund pilots that pair designers with AI projects, bringing designers together with Australian AI researchers, start-ups and businesses. The rules should be public, the pilots independently assessed, and programs expanded only where they deliver results.
Require good design when government buys AI, with suppliers showing design capability and testing services with real users.
Count designers and measure what design delivers, using national occupation codes and a regular study of design’s contribution to the economy.
Protect designers’ work when AI is trained on it, through clear, fair rules on when work is used, how it can be licensed and how designers are paid.
We also highlight gaps in IP protection for industrial, product and digital 3D designers, whose CAD files, models and renders often fall between the Copyright Act and the Designs Act. We propose three levels of transparency about AI training data, so designers can find out whether their work has been used.
On large data centres, the submission shows how interior, industrial, communication, service and strategic designers can help with workforce planning, community engagement and siting decisions.
DIA makes 22 recommendations in all, backed by a three-year delivery roadmap with measurable outcomes.