Australian Health Department Notes Both Oversight Gaps and Productivity Gains for AI Scribe Tools

The federal health department has raised concerns about the use of AI scribes by doctors, citing limited oversight and risks to patient data and consent practices. The tools record, transcribe and summarise doctor-patient conversations for medical notes.

An online poll by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners showed adoption among Australian doctors rose from 22% in August 2024 to 40% in November 2025.

Companies offering the technology reported hundreds of millions of uses globally in the past 18 months. In February 2026 Senate estimates briefing documents, the department stated that AI scribes “have little oversight” and noted that some are marketed as outside regulatory levers with limited transparency.

It added that some suppliers may be unaware their cloud platforms send data outside Australia, raising patient data security risks.

The department also pointed to supplier claims of a 30% revenue increase for health professionals without added hours or consultations, which it said carries implications for Medicare Benefits Scheme costs. An April briefing from the department’s AI advisory group noted potential gains in clinician productivity and reduced burnout.

It cautioned that the tools share the quality and accuracy limits of other large language models, with consequences for patient safety, clinical accountability and national digital health data integrity.

The department observed significant variation in how clinicians obtain patient consent and stated that informed consent requires consumers to understand the technology’s benefits and limitations. The Therapeutic Goods Administration is reviewing digital scribes to determine whether they should be classified as medical devices, with a report due in coming months.