This section provides a comparative analysis of AI adoption approaches across education sectors in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom, examining responses ranging from grassroots experimentation to nationally coordinated strategies.
What Others Are Doing — Sector Snapshots
This section provides a comparative analysis of AI adoption approaches across education sectors in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom, examining responses ranging from grassroots experimentation to nationally coordinated strategies. It identifies a critical gap across all contexts: the absence of embedded cultural safety in AI leadership frameworks. The content positions Aotearoa institutions as carrying unique responsibilities under Te Tiriti, requiring intentional integration of cultural safety beyond generic international AI governance models.
Created by Graeme Smith and Liza Kohunui
Understanding how other education systems are responding to AI can help contextualise your own organisational decisions.
Here’s a quick scan across Aotearoa, Australia, and the UK.
Aotearoa New Zealand
What’s happening locally:
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Many PTEs, Wānanga, and ITPs are running grassroots PLD, internal hackathons, or informal experimentation.
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A growing number of providers have drafted AI guidance, codes of practice, or interim statements (often folded into assessment or privacy policies).
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Ako Aotearoa is offering public tools (AIHOA), consultation, workshops, and sector forums.
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Sector themes:
High variability between institutions. Strong interest in Māori and Pacific data sovereignty. Early moves toward cross-institution alignment
Australia
Clearer national coordination is emerging:
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TEQSA and ACODE are providing leadership templates, risk frameworks, and governance guides.
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Many universities now require disclosure of GenAI use in course outlines and assessment briefs.
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Some are exploring integration with Indigenous AI frameworks, including work at Charles Darwin University and other regional HEIs.
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Sector themes:
Strong compliance and risk framing; Early maturity in policy adoption. Growing focus on ethical alignment with Indigenous communities
United Kingdom
The UK is currently the most centrally coordinated:
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Jisc leads national strategy work, producing maturity models, white papers, ethical guidelines, and procurement risk assessments.
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Universities are investing in AI literacy programmes for both staff and students.
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Sector themes:
National-level coherence. Strong emphasis on security, privacy, and responsible innovation. Rapid adoption of AI in administrative and teaching workflows
🪶 Kaupapa Māori Lens — He Whakaaro Nui
Across all three sectors, the most significant gap remains:
Cultural safety is not automatically built into AI leadership. It must be led, designed, and woven intentionally.
Reflection prompt for leaders:
“Which sector’s approach aligns most with our values and what are the unique responsibilities we carry in Aotearoa that others do not?”