25850 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Tertiary Education

Written Question

Published date: 18 Jun 2026

Metadata

Document type:	Written Question
Parliament number:	54
Question number:	25850 (2026)
Question asked:	03 Jun 2026
Member asking:	Francisco Hernandez
Portfolio:	Minister for Tertiary Education
Minister replying:	Hon Penny Simmonds
Answer received:	11 Jun 2026
Status:	Question Answered
Reply type:	Reply
Document ID:	WQ_25850_2026
Document guid:	53377d76-e75e-4a44-a227-75faac16451b

25850 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Tertiary Education: How much, if any, is the total budget in the Minister's departments, agencies, crown entities and any other bodies that the Minister is responsible for, if any, for the 2026/27 financial year on artificial intelligence- including costs on training staff, deploying systems, maintaining subscriptions and any other associated costs?

Hon Penny Simmonds: The total indicative budget for artificial intelligence (AI) related expenditure within Tertiary Education Commission for the 2026/27 financial year is approximately $374,000. This includes costs for software subscriptions (such as Copilot, GitHub, and ChatGPT) and AI related personnel to support capability development and adoption. All figures are indicative and may change over the financial year as pricing, procurement decisions, and workforce requirements evolve.