OVIC’s position on the use of generative AI in meetings with OVIC
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This article outlines the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner’s (OVIC) position on the use of generative AI tools including AI notetakers, in meetings between OVIC’s staff and OVIC’s stakeholders.
OVIC’s stakeholders may include Victorian public sector organisations, local councils, contracted service providers, consultants, Members of Parliament, interstate and international colleagues, and members of the public.
OVIC’s staff includes OVIC employees and statutory office holders.
OVIC’s position applies to online, hybrid and in person meetings.
OVIC’s position
OVIC’s preference is for stakeholders not to use generative AI tools in meetings with OVIC that involve public sector information with a Business Impact Level (BIL) rating of 2 or above and a protective marking of OFFICIAL: Sensitive or above (sensitive meetings).1 This includes the use of a generative AI tool to record the meeting, provide meeting insights or prepare draft meeting minutes.
OVIC asks stakeholders to respect its position and not use generative AI tools in sensitive meetings with OVIC.
For all other stakeholder meetings, OVIC supports its staff to decide on a case-by-case basis, whether to consent to the use of a securely managed generative AI tool in the meeting. A securely managed generative AI tool is an enterprise AI tool that is capable of being securely managed by an organisation, in that the information in the inputs, training data and outputs, can be configured so that it is only available to authorised users and is not made available outside the organisation.
Stakeholders must not use publicly available generative AI tools in meetings with OVIC staff.2
OVIC’s position aims to minimise:
- the large-scale and/or indiscriminate collection and retention of information sensitive in nature
- the collection, use and retention of inaccurate information produced by a generative AI tool, and
- the monitoring of OVIC staff through the use of generative AI tools.3
OVIC staff may direct you to this document and to OVIC’s Generative AI Use Policy and Procedures, to explain why they do not consent to the use of a generative AI tool in a meeting.
In all circumstances, OVIC expects stakeholders to inform OVIC staff at the beginning of a meeting, of the stakeholder’s intention to use a generative AI tool, the type of generative AI tool, its purpose and how any generated content will be handled by the stakeholder.
What to expect if you do use a generative AI tool
If a generative AI tool is used in a sensitive meeting with OVIC, OVIC staff may participate at a high level only, and may need to provide more detailed input or responses outside of the meeting.
If OVIC staff were unaware and later discover that a stakeholder used a generative AI tool in a sensitive meeting with OVIC, OVIC may seek further information from the stakeholder about the type of generative AI tool used, its purpose, how any generated content has been and will be handled by the stakeholder, and the stakeholder’s approach to transparency and consent when using generative AI tools in meetings.
If a generative AI tool is used to generate minutes of the meeting, OVIC staff may ask to review a copy of the meeting minutes to check that it contains an accurate record of what occurred during the meeting.
Further information
For further information about OVIC’s position please contact enquiries@ovic.vic.gov.au.
- For more information, see OVIC’s guidance on applying protective markings and assessing the security value of public sector information using Business Impact Levels.
- For more information, see OVIC’s guidance on the use of publicly available and enterprise generative AI tools in the Victorian public sector.
- For more information, see OVIC’s Guiding Principles for Surveillance.