Labour pledges independent AI regulator, copyright rules, and data centre requirements
The Labour Party has pledged, if elected, to set up an independent AI regulator, a cross-government Office of AI within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), copyright rules to ensure creators are paid for their work, and new requirements on data centres.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins and Technology and Innovation spokesperson Reuben Davidson announced the policy at Victoria University of Wellington's tech hub on Wednesday morning, 9 September 2026. RNZ
The AI regulator
The proposed AI regulator would sit outside the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) as an independent body. That means it would operate separately from the government department that currently handles online safety functions. Its mandate would go beyond overseeing a planned social media ban for under-16s, covering a wider range of regulatory functions across the AI sector.
The Office of AI
Separately, Labour's proposed Office of AI would be set up within DPMC using existing resources — no new funding allocation required. Its job would be coordinating AI policy across government agencies and developing workforce standards. The policy also said a senior minister would carry responsibility for AI, with a whole-of-government work programme published so the public can track what action is being taken.
Copyright and deepfakes
On copyright, Labour committed to developing a framework for how copyright material is used by AI systems. That includes how creators can control use of their work and be paid for it. This sits alongside a commitment to ban non-consensual deepfake pornography — realistic fake images or videos of someone made without their permission.
Data centres
The policy addresses data centre infrastructure directly. Data centres are the large facilities that house the computing power behind AI systems. Labour would require them to secure their own renewable energy supply, pay their own connection costs to the electricity grid, reduce electricity demand during peak stress periods, and use water efficiently.
Education and international alignment
Labour also committed to enabling an AI in Education team to support schools, teachers and students to use AI safely.
Internationally, the policy commits to working closely with Australia to align AI standards and approaches, and with Pacific countries on safety and security.
Te Tiriti obligations
On te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations, Labour pledged to work with iwi and hapū on how Māori data is collected, owned, governed and used.
The broader context here is that Labour's package ties together several threads that have so far moved through government in piecemeal fashion. Copyright reform is already underway through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). Automated decision-making in the welfare system is being enabled through standalone legislation. Online safety regulation has been debated across multiple cycles. What Labour is proposing is a coordinating architecture: a minister with cross-cutting accountability, an Office of AI inside DPMC to drive coherence, and an independent regulator with a mandate wider than any single harm category.
The existing policy backdrop matters. On 26 May 2026, the Government announced proposed changes to the Copyright Act, including extending the protection for most copyright and related rights by 20 years. MBIE. Separately, a bill amending the Social Security Act 2018 to allow greater use of automated decision-making in the social welfare system was introduced, with most provisions taking effect on 1 July 2026. Library of Congress
The decision to house the Office of AI in DPMC rather than DIA is worth noting. DPMC sits at the centre of government, close to the Prime Minister's policy apparatus, so placing the office there gives the AI portfolio direct proximity to the decision-making core. Placing the regulator outside DIA, which currently administers online safety functions, signals an intention to keep regulatory enforcement at arm's length from the operational department that runs related programmes.
The data centre requirements push infrastructure costs back onto operators rather than treating AI build-out as a public good to be subsidised. Requiring renewable energy supply and peak-demand reduction places AI infrastructure squarely within existing electricity system constraints.
The Māori data governance commitment, framed around collection, ownership, governance and use, goes beyond consultation language. It touches on questions of data sovereignty — the right of iwi and hapū to control data about their people — that have been pressed in other policy contexts.
For those working in and around Parliament, the package's practical test, if Labour forms a government, would be sequencing. The Office of AI could be established relatively quickly using existing DPMC resources. An independent regulator requires legislation. The copyright framework for AI use intersects with the Copyright Act review already in motion. How those workstreams align, or conflict, will determine whether the coordinating architecture functions as intended or produces overlapping mandates.
