UK and Australia sign AI security pact

The UK and Australia have signed a memorandum of understanding linking the UK AI Security Institute with a newly created Australian AI Safety Institute. The agreement creates a framework for sharing testing methods, joint research, risk assessments and staff exchanges to monitor and manage emerging AI capabilities and harms.

Under the MoU, the institutes will exchange technical insights on model capabilities, carry out collaborative research on new risks and work together on international best practices for testing and evaluating AI systems. The partners plan to develop new approaches for measuring, testing and managing risks from advanced models and other AI tools.

The deal provides for staff rotations and other exchanges to strengthen daily collaboration and support coordinated research projects. The agreement is intended to help Australia build technical capacity to keep pace with rapid developments in AI technology.

The UK institute already maintains similar arrangements with research bodies in other major economies through the International Network for Advanced AI Measurement, Evaluation, and Science and through bilateral partnerships. Officials noted the new tie-up builds on a 2024 UK-Australia memorandum on online safety and security, which covered illegal content, child safety, age assurance, technology-facilitated gender-based violence and harms from generative AI.

UK AI minister Kanishka Narayan said: “Australia and the UK have always worked closely to keep our people safe – and that partnership matters more than ever in the age of AI. This technology is moving fast, and so are the risks that come with it – particularly in areas like cybersecurity. No country can tackle that alone.” Australian minister for industry, innovation and science Tim Ayres described the pact as a mechanism for early identification of risks and support for safeguards, saying the MoU “brings Australia’s AI Safety Institute and the UK AI Security Institute together to share expertise, identify risks early and support safeguards that help prevent harm.” Dr. Andrew Charlton, Australia’s assistant minister for science, technology and the digital economy, noted the agreement “reflects our shared commitment to ensuring artificial intelligence is developed and deployed safely, securely and responsibly.”

Officials added the institutes will share findings and coordinate research priorities while maintaining bilateral ties with other international partners, aiming to produce standardised evaluation methods that regulators and industry can use when making decisions about deployment and safeguards.