The City of Mitcham uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support our people to deliver improved services for our community.
AI is used as an assistive and augmenting technology, not as a replacement for staff. Decisions that affect residents are always made by people.
Our approach to AI is guided by strong governance, clear policies and a commitment to transparent and ethical use.
Why we use AI
We use AI to:
- reduce repetitive administrative work so staff can spend more time on community focused services
- improve analysis and insights to support better informed decisions
- enhance internal efficiency and service quality
AI helps our workforce, it does not replace it.
Our principles for ethical AI
Our use of AI is guided by the following principles:
- Human centred: people remain responsible and accountable
- Ethical and fair: risks such as bias are actively identified and managed
- Secure and private: data protection is built into every stage
- Transparent: AI use is explained clearly and openly
- Continuously improving: practices are reviewed and updated over time
Keeping your data safe
We recognise that community trust depends on how well we protect information.
Data is treated as a public asset and managed carefully, securely and respectfully
Personal and confidential information is handled in line with privacy laws and council requirements
Only approved and authorised AI tools may be used for council work, Council data may not be uploaded online to web based tools such as ChatGPT for example.
Transparency and accountability
We are committed to being open about how and why AI is used at the City of Mitcham.
This includes:
- clearly communicating our approach to AI
- maintaining human oversight in all decision making
- regularly reviewing our AI practices as technology and community expectations evolve
What AI will not be used for
To protect residents and maintain trust, AI will not be used to:
- make final or automated decisions that impact the community
- replace council staff or remove human judgement from decision making
Council staff will not:
- use unauthorised tools that pose risks to privacy, security or data integrity
- operate outside of governance structures or their authorised delegations