A first-of-its-kind Australian government report has found that women and university graduates are the workers most exposed to having their jobs displaced by artificial intelligence, while those in manual and vocationally trained roles are least at risk. The report, drawing on data from Jobs and Skills Australia, warns that occupations such as telemarketers, accountants, advertising staff, software programmers, receptionists and clerks are the "most exposed" because their routine cognitive tasks are the easiest for generative AI to automate. The findings matter because they come as the Albanese government prepares to unveil updated plans next week for regulating and managing AI across industry, the economy and safety.

The report found no evidence of "broad labour market upheaval" from AI, and noted that graduate intakes are not being replaced as has been seen in the US, but it did identify a small negative relationship between AI exposure and employment growth. Between late 2022 and early 2026, employment in the least-exposed jobs — including carers, tradespeople, drivers and cleaners — grew by 9.5%, compared with just 5.6% for the most-exposed roles. The report cites Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei, whose firm is seeking multibillion-dollar investments in Australia and who has claimed AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs and push unemployment to 10-20% within one to five years. Employment minister Amanda Rishworth said labour market conditions remained strong, while the government faces pressure over copyright, privacy and the resource demands of datacentres, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to give a major AI speech next week.