Digital rights and ai accountability
Technology is evolving faster than the laws that govern it. The Australian Centre Party supports a digital policy framework that protects privacy, strengthens individual rights, and ensures emerging technologies like artificial intelligence serve the public good. We back a Digital Rights Charter, transparent AI regulation, and independent oversight to prevent misuse and discrimination. Our approach is pro-innovation — but firmly grounded in accountability, inclusion, and ethical standards.
Protecting privacy, ensuring fairness, and preparing for the future
Australians live, work, and communicate online more than ever before. Yet our digital rights are unclear, fragmented, and often unprotected. At the same time, artificial intelligence and automated decision-making systems are reshaping everything from hiring to healthcare — often without transparency or public consent.
The Australian Centre Party believes digital rights should be treated with the same seriousness as any other civil liberties — and that emerging technologies should be tools for progress, not instruments of harm. We support a rational, forward-thinking digital governance framework that empowers users, ensures accountability, and prepares Australia for a rapidly changing future.
We propose a national Digital Rights Charter, enshrining key principles including:
- The right to privacy and secure personal data
- Protection from surveillance without cause
- Transparency and consent in the use of personal information
- Fair access to digital platforms and services
- The right to know when decisions are made by algorithms
We support the creation of an Independent Technology and AI Regulator, with authority to review and audit AI systems used by government and major corporations, particularly those affecting critical decisions in justice, finance, employment, and health. AI must be explainable, traceable, and free from discriminatory bias.
In the public sector, we will require that all algorithmic decision-making tools used in government be registered, reviewed, and subject to public accountability. Australians have the right to know when they are interacting with an automated system — and to challenge decisions that affect their lives.
We support modernising privacy laws, including strong penalties for negligent data breaches and the right for individuals to control how their data is collected, stored, and used. Australians should not have to choose between convenience and control.
On misinformation and platform governance, we support a balanced regulatory approach that promotes transparency of algorithms, strengthens media literacy, and enforces moderation policies in accordance with Australian law — without undermining freedom of expression or giving the state excessive control over speech.
Our approach differs from the political extremes. Unlike the populist Right, we don’t leave individuals vulnerable to unchecked corporate power. Unlike parts of the activist Left, we don’t support overreach that stifles innovation or creates costly compliance burdens with limited benefit.
We believe digital governance must be future-facing, proportionate, and independent. Innovation should be encouraged — but not at the expense of fairness, transparency, or trust.
The internet and AI will shape the next century. The Australian Centre Party will ensure that future works for the people who live in it — not just the companies who build it.