South Australia has announced the first Australian royal commission into artificial intelligence, an inquiry expected to begin on 1 October 2026 and produce policy recommendations by 1 July 20271,6,9. ANALYSIS By choosing a royal commission — one of the most powerful investigative instruments available to a state government — Premier Peter Malinauskas is making a deliberate bet: that a sub-national jurisdiction can define the regulatory conversation before Canberra does.
Why it matters
Royal commissions are not parliamentary committees. They compel testimony, demand documents, and produce findings that carry enormous political weight. Malinauskas said he wanted "big American companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to be part of the royal commission"8. He signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI during a recent US trip to explore ways of improving productivity in the state public service5. ◆ That combination — an MOU with one of the companies he now wants to summon before a formal inquiry — creates an unusual dynamic in which a commercial partner is simultaneously a regulatory subject.
The big picture
The inquiry is expected to begin on 1 October 2026 and deliver its final report by 1 July 20277,10. Three commissioners "with relevant expertise" will be appointed, and the panel is expected to hear from businesses, industry bodies, unions, technology developers, academics, independent experts, and representatives of the creative industries. The terms of reference, to be confirmed within the next four to six weeks, will cover policy and regulatory settings at both state and national levels; impacts on education, health, and public services; workforce implications; and AI-related infrastructure including energy and water usage.
Notably, data centres themselves are excluded. Malinauskas said the inquiry would focus on how AI is used in society — "which is far more consequential than where a data centre gets built"4. ANALYSIS That scoping decision signals the commission's centre of gravity: societal deployment and labour-market disruption, not hardware siting or energy permitting.
Malinauskas framed the stakes in stark terms. "Unchecked artificial intelligence does represent a material risk to the way our society operates and a risk to the future of work if not thought through carefully," he said3. "We are at a really important fork in the road". He added: "We can choose to allow this industry to come to our country and evolve in a way that is unregulated and unchecked, or we can choose to set the agenda … to ensure that we use AI in a way that puts people first".
Between the lines
Malinauskas said the announcement followed meetings with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Apple during his US visit2. He told the ABC's RN Breakfast: "Within 72 hours of being on the ground and talking to people who are themselves developing the technology and using the technology, and them talking about the profound implications of what AI will do to our modern economy, I was absolutely convinced this is something we should do". ANALYSIS The premier is citing the AI developers' own candour about disruption as the catalyst for regulation — effectively turning industry admissions into a justification for state intervention.
South Australia previously spearheaded an under-16s social media ban before it became federal legislation. Malinauskas suggested the state would again play "a leadership role". UNSW AI Institute chief scientist Toby Walsh welcomed the inquiry: "If this is a way of getting the [federal] government to move faster, I welcome the idea that South Australia can again help us get to a good place". ◆ Walsh's framing is revealing: the commission's value may lie less in its own findings than in the pressure it exerts on Canberra to act.
Critically, Malinauskas said any implementation of new state-based AI regulations or policies would not be delayed until the royal commission reports its findings. ◆ That timeline independence means the commission functions as both a policy-development exercise and a political accelerant — the government can legislate in parallel, citing the inquiry's existence as evidence of due diligence.
What's next
The terms of reference are due within four to six weeks. The appointment of the three commissioners will be the first concrete signal of the inquiry's orientation — whether it leans toward technical expertise, legal frameworks, or labour economics. The commission's formal start on 1 October 2026 will coincide with a period in which the federal government faces its own mounting pressure on AI governance. Malinauskas said he wanted OpenAI, Anthropic, and Apple to participate. ◆ Whether those companies engage voluntarily or are compelled to do so will test the practical reach of a state-level inquiry over global AI developers.