11/05/2026

Charlton makes major AI industry statement

Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy Dr Andrew Charlton has delivered one of the Government’s most substantial statements on AI, arguing that Australia must build domestic capability rather than become dependent on foreign AI systems.

Charlton framed data as a national asset, warning that AI will use data to generate intelligence, services and economic value. He argued that Australia’s prosperity depends on building AI around “our own data and ingenuity”, keeping data, jobs and intellectual property onshore.

For publishers, the speech is a significant signal. It links AI policy with data sovereignty, Australian capability, IP ownership and value capture — issues central to the book industry’s case for consent, licensing, transparency and fair payment when copyright works are used in AI.

Education Publishing Advocacy Briefing — 14 May

APA will hold an Education Publishing Advocacy Briefing on Thursday 14 May for members across schools, higher education and related education markets.

The session will focus on current advocacy and government relations issues, including copyright, procurement, schools publishing, higher education learning materials, research integrity, the National Cultural Policy consultation, and related sector risks.

National Cultural Policy submission support session — 18 May

APA will hold a Zoom support session at 12pm on Monday 18 May for publishers preparing National Cultural Policy submissions.

The session will cover APA’s resources, how to shape a concise submission, how to encourage authors and illustrators to contribute, and member questions.

APA, STM and CUJS hold scholarly publishing exchange in Melbourne

APA and STM welcomed a delegation from the China University Journals Society (CUJS) to Melbourne in late April for a three-day scholarly and journals publishing exchange.

The program opened at Asialink on Monday, continued with an event hosted by Monash University Press on Tuesday, and concluded with an APA–CUJS roundtable at the offices of Springer Nature on Wednesday. Around 30 Chinese participants took part, alongside Australian scholarly publishing representatives.

The exchange underlined the importance of Australia–China research connections and the role of journals in research communication and trusted knowledge exchange. It also highlighted differences between China’s more government-led journals sector, where journals are treated as core research infrastructure, and Australia’s smaller independent sector, significant regional players, and role within the global infrastructure of science.

Key themes included research integrity, AI, copyright, open access, policy formation and trust in scholarly publishing.

APA was represented by CEO Patrizia Di Biase-Dyson, Head of Policy Dr Stuart Glover, and APA Board member Peter D'Onghia, Head of Journals APAC at Wiley.