Budget Shapes AU Tech

By the Dovetail editors · 4 min read

TL;DR

Australia's federal budget drops $70M on an AI accelerator but CGT reform uncertainty rattles the startup sector
Senate launches an inquiry into the data centre boom and government AI deals
Notion opens its workspace to third-party AI agents
Anthropic quietly overtakes OpenAI in business customer share

Australian Tech · Budget Fallout

Federal budget commits $70M to AI accelerator and agency trials

The 2026 budget includes a new $70 million AI Accelerator program alongside trials across government agencies. It's the clearest signal yet that Canberra wants to move from AI talk to AI procurement.

CGT reform clouds otherwise welcome RDTI changes

Tech groups broadly welcomed R&D tax incentive reforms, but proposed capital gains tax changes are causing real anxiety among founders and investors. Me&u CEO Kim Teo warned the changes could push startups offshore.

Senate inquiry to examine data centre boom and government AI deals

A new six-month Senate inquiry will scrutinise the environmental, industrial and community impacts of Australia's data centre expansion, plus the regulation of AI companies driving it.

AI · Worldwide

Notion opens its workspace to AI agents

Notion launched a developer platform that lets teams plug AI agents, external data sources and custom code directly into workspaces. It positions Notion less as a doc tool and more as an orchestration layer for agentic workflows.

Anthropic overtakes OpenAI in business customer share

Ramp expense data shows 34.4% of surveyed businesses now pay for Anthropic, edging past OpenAI's 32.3%. It's a notable shift in enterprise momentum for the Claude maker.