InnovationAus Podcast

The startling results in the US mid-term elections - and the role that the data centre boom played - has implications for Australian policymakers and the approach to building infrastructure in the country.

It was a busy week in Canberra with House of Reps sitting, Senate estimates and hearings of the Joint Select Committee on AI all week. In this NewsWrap, Justin Hendry talks through the debate on R&D and capital gains tax changes that passed the House, and sets up a final stoush in November.

Data centres have become a singular point of focus for community concerns about the future. But they are also the subject of massive government FOMO. The past year has been a wild ride for Data Centres Australia founder and CEO Belinda Dennett, as she tells the Commercial Disco podcast.

Sara Goldsworthy is the founder/CEO of Corro, a highly secure, single-pane view communications platform for governments and large enterprises. Corro's mission is to fix fragmented messaging platforms, while maintaining bombproof security. As a former senior public servant who worked across the national security space, it is a role she was made for.

A National Semiconductor Roadmap was rolled out this week in Sydney at the industry's annual conference - Justin Hendry was there and provides some insight into this landmark document. Also, what did AI expert Toby Walsh say at the joint select committee that got members cranky?

UnderTech co-founder and chief executive Emily Pyke is a former Navy electronic warfare petty officer, a startup entrepreneur and in 2025 was named the Prime Minister’s Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year. In this episode, James Riley about what it like to be an Australian dual-use startup selling into the defence sector.

The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) CEO Annabelle Herd says the creative industries are in the fight of their lives against AI companies seeking to up-end local copyright protections. It's a David versus Goliath fight, and the rest of the world is watching.

An unusual letter from the Joint Select Committee on AI to the Prime Minister with interim recommendations, complete with Track Changes indicating the depth of input from the PM's office, was all it took to put a carefully constructed campaign to 'earn' social licence onto shaky ground. 

With four straight days of hearings this week of the Joint Select Committee on AI, the difficulties facing decision makers have become more apparent. How these complexities will be resolved (especially on copyright) is not clear. InnovationAus editor Justin Hendry and James Riley step through the cavalcade of witnesses.

Former Industry minister Ed Husic says his work on AI safety in the first term of the Albanese government has been 'validated'. He says the work done two years ago on regulation should be picked up again. InnovationAus.com editor Justin Hendry tracks the guardrail timeline.

Welcome to the latest episode of Powering What’s Next, brought to you by GE Vernova, where we explore the technologies, infrastructure and partnerships shaping Australia’s energy transition and what it will take to build a more reliable, affordable and sustainable energy future. In this episode, Corrie McLeod, publisher, InnovationAus.com is joined by Anna Collyer, chair of the Australian Energy M...

In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, Victorian Senator Michelle Ananda-Rajah argues the case for regulation of social media and the AI sector. She tells James Riley that regulation is not at odds with technology - and does not stifle innovation as some opponents claim.

In this episode of the Commercial Disco, Michael Gately, the co-founder and CEO at Canberra-based AI and machine learning startup Trellis Data discusses the company's Australian sovereign AI known as Agentaus, and what the future looks like for AI in this country.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had a lot to say at the United Nations General Assembly this week about artificial intelligence. But the showstopper was his revelation that OpenAI agents had breached a Medicare statistics website - a shocking breach of trust - and the company's tardy and dismissive notification processes. Justin Hendry covered for InnovationAus.

Targets related to growing the number of tech jobs across the economy become less meaningful as the roll out of AI changes workplace roles, the Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles says. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, Mr Giles discusses the impact of AI on jobs.

In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, Rux Energy founder and CEO Jehan Kanga discusses the 10x improvements in hydrogen transport and storage technologies, and the future of hydrogen in the global green energy mix.

A big week for the Prime Minister's National AI Standards with the first hearings of the Joint Select Committee on AI. InnovationAus editor Justin Hendry and James Riley discuss the progress.

Deteriorating geopolitical circumstances has driven increased activity within the commercial innovation ecosystem on DefenceTech and dual-use technology - including more active participation of traditional VC firms. In this episode of Resilience Through Capability podcast, retired Rear Admiral Lee Goddard discusses the rise of the neo-primes.

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says Australia has become 'The Complacent Country' with Donald Horne's 'Lucky Country' tag now well past its use by date. The episode discusses Mr Rudd's industry policy proposals outlined in a speech this week to the National Press Club.

In this episode of Delivery: A GovTech Podcast, National Gallery of Australia chief information officer discusses the role artificial intelligence within cultural institutions, and the guardrails put around its use to support human creativity.

In this episode of Resilience through Capability, TechnologyOne’s head of security and compliance, Chris Polkinghorne, talks with InnovationAus.com publisher Corrie McLeod about why digital sovereignty is about far more than where data is stored. They explore the growing complexity of cloud, AI and technology supply chains, the importance of understanding organisational dependencies, and how busin...

The Department of Industry, Science and Resources hoisted a white flag this week, surrendering its target of growing the number of technology jobs in Australia to 1.3 million by 2030. There is a lot of background to this story - as InnovationAus editor Justin Hendry explains.

Welcome to the first episode of Resilience through Capability, an InnovationAus.com series exploring how Australia can build the industrial and technological capabilities needed to strengthen our economic and national resilience. In this episode, we turn to one of the defining technologies of the next decade: artificial intelligence. ResetData co-founder and co-CEO Marcel Zalloua joins InnovationA...

Anyone at the Australian Defence Science, Technology and Research (ADSTAR) summit in Adelaide last month will have recognised an increased sense of urgency attached to defence tech development efforts. Australia's Chief Defence Scientist Tanya Monro discusses Defence priorities, and emerging opportunities for Australian innovators.

In this episode of the Commercial Disco podcast, national intelligence community veteran Dr Miah Hammond-Errey discusses cognitive performance and resilience optimisation - and the technology platform her startup Strat Futures has built to get the best out of high-performing teams.