"A fact-checked guide to firms that help a business decide what to do with AI: readiness assessments, strategy, governance, training and vendor choice. Fifteen consultancies, grouped by city and by the kind of buyer each suits. FactoryJet is on the list and says so."
Key Takeaways
- 1There is no single best AI consultancy in Australia. Sort by your city first, then by your size.
- 2We read every firm on its own website on 9 October 2026. Nobody paid to be listed, and the order is not a ranking.
- 3Thirteen of the 15 firms also build what they recommend. Ask each one for a written plan you own before any build.
- 4Three firms publish prices: Real Minds AI, Synap and Yes AI. Entry points run from A$400 plus GST for three hours to A$3,000 plus GST for a two to three week audit.
- 5From 10 December 2026, privacy policies must explain certain automated decisions that use personal information (OAIC).
- 6FactoryJet is on this list. We work remotely with Australian clients, and we advise and then build.
The short answer
There is no single best AI consultancy in Australia. Match by city and size. Small business: Nimbull (Sydney), Real Minds AI or Synap (Melbourne), Integrity Ai (Brisbane). Mid-size: Kinetic Consulting or JOURN3Y, Yes AI or Revium, Advancer. Regulated or government-facing: AI Consulting Group, RUBIX, Humanising Technologies. FactoryJet advises, then builds.
FactoryJet wrote this list and is on it. We read every firm on its own website on 9 October 2026: where it is based, what advice it sells, who it suits and any price it publishes. Nobody paid to be listed and the order is not a ranking.
For a second opinion on your shortlist, talk to the Founder. The first call is free.
This guide covers firms that advise. An AI consultancy helps a business decide what to do with AI before money goes into software: whether you are ready, what to do first, what rules to set, how to train your people and which tool or builder to pick. If you already know what you want built, use our list of AI agencies in Australia that build.
Most lists of Australian AI firms are national, and that hides the question buyers ask. In Australia, “ai consulting” draws about 1,000 Google searches a month, and “ai consulting sydney” and “ai consulting melbourne” about 110 each (DataForSEO, read on 9 October 2026). People search by city. So this list is sorted by city, then by the kind of buyer each firm suits: a small business, a mid-size company, or a regulated or government-facing organisation.
A note on honesty. FactoryJet sells AI consulting, so we are on this list. We put ourselves last. We are implementation-led, which means we advise and then build. Where another firm will suit you better, we say that too.
A few terms, in plain English. A readiness assessment is a short review of your data, systems, people and risks. A roadmap is a ranked list of what to do, in order. Governance means the rules for using AI: who is accountable, which tools are allowed, what data may go into them and who checks the output. A use case is one job you want AI to help with, such as drafting quotes.
The shortlist at a glance
Find your city, then your size, and read those profiles in full. Check the last column, because 13 of these 15 firms also build what they recommend.
| Consultancy | City | Suits | Advisory work | Does it also build? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nimbull | Sydney | Small business | AI training, AI strategy audits and automation | Yes. It says it consults, builds AI and automation, and trains people to run it |
| Melotti AI Ethics Consulting | Sydney | Mid-size company | AI policy, governance and ethics advice; responsible AI training | No. Its About page says its people are business professionals, not software engineers or developers |
| Kinetic Consulting | Sydney | Mid-size company | AI strategy, AI roadmaps, AI governance and AI software assessments | Advice first. It lists implementation support and process automation, not software development |
| JOURN3Y | Sydney | Mid-size company | AI strategy blueprint, then AI agents and staff training | Yes. It builds AI agents and is a certified implementation partner for Glean and WisdomAI |
| AI Consulting Group | Sydney | Regulated or government-facing | Data and AI strategy, AI governance and risk, education workshops | Yes. Machine learning, generative AI and data platforms, on fixed price or time and materials |
| Real Minds AI | Melbourne | Small business | Operations diagnosis, working sessions and hands-on team training | Yes. One working tool with one team before anything scales |
| Synap | Melbourne | Small business | AI readiness assessment and Fractional AI Advisor retainers | Yes. Custom software, typically in two to six weeks |
| AI Consulting by Yes AI | Melbourne | Mid-size company | Fixed-price AI opportunity audit, roadmap, governance and policy, team training | Yes. The same engineers who write the roadmap build it |
| Revium | Melbourne | Mid-size company | AI strategy and road mapping, AI governance and policy, technology advisory | Yes. Websites, applications and AI agents, delivered onshore |
| RUBIX | Melbourne | Regulated or government-facing | AI and data strategy, AI governance, data foundations | Yes. Data platforms, analytics and AI agents |
| Integrity Ai | Brisbane | Small business | AI strategy and governance advice, training, workflow automation | Yes. Workflow automations and agents, which it says are hosted in Australia |
| Sunburnt AI | Brisbane | Small business | AI strategy and roadmap, governance policy, training | Yes. Automation, AI agents and development |
| Advancer | Brisbane | Mid-size company | Readiness audits, roadmaps, change management, AI training, Fractional AI Director | Yes. AI agents, automations, voice AI and custom tools |
| Humanising Technologies | Brisbane | Regulated or government-facing | AI strategy, readiness assessment and procurement support for government | Yes. One senior engineer, Greg Turner, who also builds |
| FactoryJet (that is us) | Remote | Small or mid-size business | AI readiness assessment, use case selection, AI usage policy, then the build | Yes. We are implementation-led: we advise, then we build |
How we built this list
- Start with what buyers ask. On 9 October 2026 we read 122 AI assistant answers to 10 Australian buyer questions. That included 14 answers to “Best AI consultancy in Sydney for implementing AI in a mid-size company?”, 14 to “Can you recommend an AI development company in Melbourne?” and 8 to “What are some consulting firms in Australia?”.
- Read the lists those answers cite. Assistants lean on lists. On our ten questions, list articles made up 73 percent of the small-firm pages Perplexity cited, 59 percent for the Gemini app, 36 percent for the ChatGPT app and 35 percent for Google. We read four of those lists. One covers Sydney only. One sorts firms by size tier. One is about firms that build agents. One national top seven never mentions Melbourne or Brisbane. Eleven of the 14 other firms on our list appear in none of the four.
- Check Google as well. We ran 14 Australian searches about AI consulting through DataForSEO. Google showed an AI Overview on 11 of them. It showed none for either Brisbane search.
- Advisory work only. A firm had to sell at least one of five things on its own site: a readiness assessment, a strategy or roadmap, governance and policy, training, or independent advice on tools and vendors.
- An Australian city on the firm’s own site. Each of the 14 firms we researched shows one.
- Read the source, not the summary. Every profile comes from the firm’s own pages, opened on 9 October 2026 and linked under each entry. We give no star ratings because we have not been a client of these firms.
- Prices only from the firm. Where a firm publishes a price, we quote it and link the page. We never guess another company’s price.
What an AI consultancy does before anyone builds
Advisory work comes down to five jobs. Most buyers need one or two of them. The right-hand column shows how firms on this list describe each job on their own pages.
| The job | What you should receive | How firms on this list do it |
|---|---|---|
| Readiness assessment | A written view of your data, systems, people and risks, and what is ready now | Synap returns a report and ranked roadmap in seven days. Advancer has a free ten-minute self-check. Humanising Technologies tests data, accountability, architecture and capability for government |
| Strategy and roadmap | A short ranked list of use cases, each with an owner, a cost and a way to measure it | JOURN3Y says its Blueprint typically takes two to four weeks. Yes AI says its audit typically takes two to three. RUBIX scores use cases by value and feasibility |
| Governance and policy | An AI usage policy, a register of AI systems and named owners | RUBIX says a framework typically takes eight to twelve weeks. Melotti AI Ethics Consulting writes the policy and operating procedures. Sunburnt AI lists a director workshop with a governance policy |
| Training | Staff who can use approved tools safely on their own work | AI Consulting Group runs a one-day masterclass in the Sydney CBD. Integrity Ai trains from the front line to the board table. Real Minds AI and Nimbull teach in short sessions |
| Tool and vendor choice | An independent view on which tool to buy, or whether to build | Kinetic Consulting lists AI software assessments. Revium lists platform selection and build versus buy. Yes AI says it takes no reseller commission |
Best AI consultancy in Sydney for a small business, a mid-size company or a regulated one
Five Sydney firms made this list. “ai consulting sydney” and “ai consultant sydney” each draw about 110 Google searches a month. For a mid-size company, start with Kinetic Consulting or JOURN3Y, or with Melotti AI Ethics Consulting if the first need is a written policy. For a small business, Nimbull. For regulated or government-facing work, AI Consulting Group.
Two Melbourne firms on this list, RUBIX and Revium, are worth a Sydney buyer’s time as well. RUBIX lists a Sydney office at 347 Kent Street.
Suits: Small business
1. Nimbull
Based: Suite 4, Level 1, 102 Gloucester Street, The Rocks, Sydney. Advisory work: AI training, AI strategy audits and automation.
Nimbull is a digital marketing and AI agency. Its AI consulting page offers AI strategy audits, AI training and automation with tools such as Zapier, ChatGPT and Google NotebookLM. Reviews on that page describe three-hour training sessions for people new to AI. Its home page says it was named a finalist in the Excellence in Innovation category at the 2026 Sydney Business Awards.
- Best for: Owners and small teams in Sydney who want to be shown the tools first and decide what to automate second.
- Typical client: Business owners and small teams, many of them new to AI.
- Does it also build? Yes. It says it consults, builds AI and automation, and trains people to run it.
- Worth asking them: What the strategy audit hands you in writing, and whether the advice is separate from its marketing services.
Source: nimbull.com.au/ai-consulting/
Suits: Mid-size company
2. Melotti AI Ethics Consulting
Based: Level 7, 70 King Street, Sydney. Advisory work: AI policy, governance and ethics advice; responsible AI training.
Advice only. It assesses what rules a company needs for AI, then writes the AI policy and the standard operating procedures and runs team workshops. Other services on its site are AI ethics advisory, responsible AI competency training and AI diligence evaluations.
- Best for: A company whose staff already use AI tools and which needs a written policy before anything else.
- Typical client: Senior executives, legal and compliance teams, and anyone who oversees AI use.
- Does it also build? No. Its About page says its people are business professionals, not software engineers or developers.
- Worth asking them: Which Australian guidance the policy is written against, and who keeps it current.
Source: www.melottiaiethics.com.au/governance-and-policy-advisory.html
Suits: Mid-size company
3. Kinetic Consulting
Based: Level 10, 20 Martin Place, Sydney. Advisory work: AI strategy, AI roadmaps, AI governance and AI software assessments.
A boutique strategy, customer experience and AI consultancy. The AI services on its site are AI business requirements, AI strategy, AI software assessments, AI use cases, process automation and implementation support. They sit next to wider work in corporate governance, cyber security and business transformation. It says clients work with partner-level consultants.
- Best for: A mid-size Sydney company that wants senior strategy people to set requirements and assess AI software before anyone builds.
- Typical client: Private and public sector clients.
- Does it also build? Advice first. It lists implementation support and process automation, not software development.
- Worth asking them: Who would do the hands-on build after the roadmap, and how that builder is chosen.
Source: www.kineticconsulting.com.au/strategy-cx-ai-consulting-services/
Suits: Mid-size company
4. JOURN3Y
Based: Sydney. Advisory work: AI strategy blueprint, then AI agents and staff training.
Its Blueprint is a planning process of workshops and assessments that ends in a ranked list of AI opportunities and a plan, typically in two to four weeks, with a platform and technology assessment included. A typical first build is an eight to ten week proof of concept on your own systems. It also runs a programme that teaches your staff to build agents themselves.
- Best for: A Sydney company of 100 people or more that wants a plan and then the same firm to put AI to work.
- Typical client: Australian enterprises from 100 to 10,000+ people.
- Does it also build? Yes. It builds AI agents and is a certified implementation partner for Glean and WisdomAI.
- Worth asking them: How the platform assessment treats tools outside its partner list.
Suits: Regulated or government-facing
5. AI Consulting Group
Based: Level 2, 11 York Street, Sydney. Advisory work: Data and AI strategy, AI governance and risk, education workshops.
Education, ideation and strategy workshops over one to three days that end in a data and AI opportunity roadmap. A one-day AI Playbook Masterclass in the Sydney CBD. And an AI governance framework that its site says aligns to the Australian Government Voluntary AI Safety Standard, ISO 42001 and the US NIST AI Risk Management Framework.
- Best for: An organisation that needs a governance framework and a data strategy that will stand up in front of a board or a regulator.
- Typical client: From family businesses to large global customers, in mining, logistics, law, government, manufacturing and finance.
- Does it also build? Yes. Machine learning, generative AI and data platforms, on fixed price or time and materials.
- Worth asking them: Which parts of the governance framework are templates and which are written for you.
Source: aiconsultinggroup.com.au/
AI consulting in Melbourne: five firms by the buyer each suits
“ai consulting melbourne” draws about 110 searches a month, level with Sydney. Three of the five Melbourne firms publish what they charge for a first step, more than in any other city here. For a small business, start with Real Minds AI or Synap. For a mid-size company, Yes AI or Revium. For a bank, insurer, super fund or agency, RUBIX.
Suits: Small business
6. Real Minds AI
Based: Melbourne, working Australia-wide. Advisory work: Operations diagnosis, working sessions and hands-on team training.
Founded by Tracy Anthony and Dr Dennis Wollersheim. Its services page sets out a ladder: a free conversation, a paid Starter of two one-to-one sessions (three hours in total), a fixed-price AI Working Session with your team in the room, a deeper Operations Assessment, then a build. It publishes its prices and says it will tell you whether your problem is an AI problem or a process problem.
- Best for: A small organisation or not-for-profit in Melbourne that wants to see prices before it books a call.
- Typical client: Organisations of 10 to 500 staff. One case study on its home page is a 32-person NDIS provider.
- Does it also build? Yes. One working tool with one team before anything scales.
- Worth asking them: What you hold at the end of the Starter: the roadmap, and the first small win it promises.
Suits: Small business
7. Synap
Based: Level 8, 220 Collins Street, Melbourne. Advisory work: AI readiness assessment and Fractional AI Advisor retainers.
A readiness assessment that sends a questionnaire to the leader of each department, then returns a written report, a ranked roadmap and a two-hour walk-through with a consultant, with results in seven days. It also sells a monthly Fractional AI Advisor retainer. Its site says all client data is hosted in Australia, and that it builds to the controls behind SOC 2 and ISO 27001 without claiming formal certification.
- Best for: A small Melbourne business that wants a low-cost written starting point, or a mid-market one that wants an adviser on call each month.
- Typical client: Australian small and mid-market businesses.
- Does it also build? Yes. Custom software, typically in two to six weeks.
- Worth asking them: How much of the report comes from its software and how much is a consultant reading your answers.
Suits: Mid-size company
8. AI Consulting by Yes AI
Based: Melbourne. Advisory work: Fixed-price AI opportunity audit, roadmap, governance and policy, team training.
The consulting practice of Yes AI, a Melbourne AI company. It starts with a free conversation, then a fixed-price AI Opportunity Audit that typically takes two to three weeks and ends in a costed roadmap you own. It says it holds no reseller agreements and takes no commission on software. Its pricing page says the audit usually does not pay for itself in a business under about 20 people.
- Best for: A business of 20 to 200 people that wants vendor-independent advice and a roadmap it can take elsewhere.
- Typical client: Australian businesses of roughly 20 staff and up.
- Does it also build? Yes. The same engineers who write the roadmap build it.
- Worth asking them: For an example of an audit that recommended building nothing.
Source: ai-consulting.au/pricing
Suits: Mid-size company
9. Revium
Based: Level 5, 84 Cubitt Street, Cremorne, Melbourne. Also Level 19, 160 Ann Street, Brisbane. Advisory work: AI strategy and road mapping, AI governance and policy, technology advisory.
An Australian-owned digital and AI consultancy with, in its own words, over two decades of experience. Its advisory page lists AI strategy and road mapping, AI governance and policy, independent technology advisory on platform selection and build versus buy, and discovery and scoping. It says it is ISO 27001 certified and delivers 100 percent onshore.
- Best for: A mid-size or larger organisation, or a member body, that wants platform advice from a firm that can also deliver.
- Typical client: Mid-to-large Australian enterprises, government and member organisations.
- Does it also build? Yes. Websites, applications and AI agents, delivered onshore.
- Worth asking them: How the technology advice is kept separate from the build team that could win the work.
Suits: Regulated or government-facing
10. RUBIX
Based: 330 Collins Street, Melbourne (headquarters). Also 347 Kent Street, Sydney and 10 Eagle Street, Brisbane. Advisory work: AI and data strategy, AI governance, data foundations.
A data and AI firm that says it has delivered custom data platforms for Australian enterprise since 2011. Its governance page describes a fixed-scope engagement in four stages (assess, design, operationalise, monitor) that typically takes eight to twelve weeks and leaves you with working policies, an AI register and accountable owners. It also offers board-ready AI roadmaps and a free AI readiness assessment.
- Best for: A bank, insurer, super fund or agency that must show who is accountable for each AI system.
- Typical client: Banks, insurers, superannuation funds and government.
- Does it also build? Yes. Data platforms, analytics and AI agents.
- Worth asking them: How its framework maps to the guidance your own regulator uses today.
If you are still unsure at this point
Send us the one job your team repeats most. On a free call, the founder will tell you whether it needs a readiness assessment, a policy, some training or no AI at all, and which kind of firm on this page fits. That may not be us.
Talk to the FounderAI consultants in Brisbane: four firms by the buyer each suits
A Brisbane buyer has less to go on. DataForSEO returned no monthly search figure for “ai consulting brisbane” on 9 October 2026. Google showed no AI Overview for either Brisbane search we ran, and one firm held three of the top ten results for the first. None of the four firms below is named in any of the four lists we read.
For a small business, start with Integrity Ai or Sunburnt AI. For a mid-size company, Advancer. For a government agency or a supplier to one, Humanising Technologies. Revium and RUBIX also list Brisbane offices.
Suits: Small business
11. Integrity Ai
Based: Brisbane. Advisory work: AI strategy and governance advice, training, workflow automation.
Its home page line is "Big AI. Small business budget." The advice covers strategy, governance and which tools to choose, with no vendor bias in its own words. Its workshops run from the front line to the board table, on topics such as AI fundamentals, Microsoft Copilot, Claude, and guardrails and policy. The National AI Centre directory lists it as a Brisbane-based consultancy for small and medium businesses, boards and community organisations.
- Best for: A small Brisbane business, board or community group that wants plain-English advice before buying any tool.
- Typical client: Small businesses and non-technical business leaders.
- Does it also build? Yes. Workflow automations and agents, which it says are hosted in Australia.
- Worth asking them: What a first piece of advice includes and what you receive in writing.
Source: www.integrityai.com.au/
Suits: Small business
12. Sunburnt AI
Based: 123 Eagle Street, Brisbane. Its site also lists 333 George Street, Sydney and 120 Spencer Street, Melbourne. Advisory work: AI strategy and roadmap, governance policy, training.
It calls itself strategy-led: it looks at priorities, workflows, data maturity and risk before recommending technology. Work listed on its site includes a director workshop and an AI governance policy for a firm whose people were already using AI tools. It says Australian data stays onshore, that you own everything it builds, and that it sometimes tells clients not to build.
- Best for: A Queensland business that wants a roadmap and a governance policy, with its data kept in Australia.
- Typical client: Small, medium and larger businesses.
- Does it also build? Yes. Automation, AI agents and development.
- Worth asking them: Which of its three addresses your team would deal with, and who leads the engagement.
Source: sunburntai.com.au/ai-consulting
Suits: Mid-size company
13. Advancer
Based: Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. Advisory work: Readiness audits, roadmaps, change management, AI training, Fractional AI Director.
Consulting for SMEs and mid-market businesses: readiness audits, a prioritised roadmap, change management and compliance. Its Fractional AI Director is a senior person on a monthly retainer, typically two to four days a month, who leads the AI agenda, briefs the executive team and board, and gives independent guidance on platforms, tools and partners. It also runs AI masterclasses and offers a free ten-minute readiness check.
- Best for: A mid-size Queensland business that wants an AI lead for a few days a month without hiring one.
- Typical client: Australian SMEs and mid-market businesses. It says it partners with over 100 organisations.
- Does it also build? Yes. AI agents, automations, voice AI and custom tools.
- Worth asking them: How the Fractional AI Director stays independent when its own delivery team is one of the options.
Suits: Regulated or government-facing
14. Humanising Technologies
Based: Brisbane, on site in Brisbane or remote anywhere in Australia. Advisory work: AI strategy, readiness assessment and procurement support for government.
A one-person practice. Greg Turner writes that he has shipped software for Australian healthcare, government and banking since 1993, including work on Queensland Health clinical systems, Medicare claims processing and the ATO. His government page covers readiness across data, accountability, architecture and capability. It lists five questions to answer before a procurement, such as where the data will be stored and what the exit path is if the vendor fails.
- Best for: A Queensland agency, or a supplier to one, that wants a senior practitioner to test an AI business case before it goes to market.
- Typical client: Government agencies, health and banking.
- Does it also build? Yes. One senior engineer, Greg Turner, who also builds.
- Worth asking them: His availability. One person can take only a few engagements at a time.
Source: humanisingtechnologies.au/services/ai-strategy-government-public-sector/
Remote AI consulting for Australian businesses
Remote advice works for most of this, because workshops and interviews run well over video. Advancer, a Brisbane firm, says on its own site that most of its delivery happens remotely, with on-site sessions where they add value.
Suits: Small or mid-size business
15. FactoryJet (that is us)
Based: Works remotely with Australian clients and schedules calls in Australian business hours. Advisory work: AI readiness assessment, use case selection, AI usage policy, then the build.
We run the readiness assessment, pick the two or three use cases worth doing first, check your data and Privacy Act duties, and recommend whether to buy a tool or build one. If a build is the right call, the same team designs, builds and supports it, and you own the code. We do not resell any AI platform. The founder is involved in every engagement. We are not lawyers and do not give legal sign-off.
- Best for: A small or mid-size business that wants advice from the people who will build the system, and is happy to work over video.
- Typical client: Small and mid-size businesses; 500+ businesses served since 2014.
- Does it also build? Yes. We are implementation-led: we advise, then we build.
- Worth asking them: What you hold in writing at the end of the readiness assessment.
Source: factoryjet.com/au/ai-consulting
FactoryJet services for Australian businesses: AI consulting in Australia, AI agent development and custom AI development.
How much do AI consulting firms charge? What these firms publish
Most consultancies quote after a call. Three on this list publish prices for advisory work, and several more publish how long a step takes. We copied both on 9 October 2026. These are each firm’s own figures. They are not FactoryJet prices and not a market survey, and firms change them, so check the source.
| Firm | Advisory step | Published figure (AUD) | Published time | Source (read 9 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Minds AI | Starter: two one-to-one sessions | A$400 plus GST | Three hours in total | realmindsai.com.au/ai-consulting-services/ |
| Real Minds AI | AI Working Session with your team | A$4,500, credited against a build. GST not stated for this item | Half a day to a full day | realmindsai.com.au/ai-consulting-services/ |
| Synap | AI Readiness Assessment | From A$950 plus GST | Results in 7 days | www.synap.au/readiness-assessment |
| AI Consulting by Yes AI | AI Opportunity Audit | A$3,000 plus GST, fixed | Typically 2 to 3 weeks | ai-consulting.au/pricing |
| JOURN3Y | AI Strategy Blueprint | Not published | Typically 2 to 4 weeks | www.journ3y.com.au/products/blueprint |
| RUBIX | AI governance framework | Not published | Typically 8 to 12 weeks | www.rubix.com.au/ai-governance-consulting |
| AI Consulting Group | Education, ideation and strategy workshops | Not published | 1 to 3 days | aiconsultinggroup.com.au/ |
| Advancer | Fractional AI Director | Not published | Typically 2 to 4 days a month | www.advancer.com.au/fractional-ai-director |
How to read this. The A$400 Real Minds AI Starter buys three hours with a principal. The Synap assessment from A$950 buys a questionnaire-led report. The A$3,000 Yes AI audit and the A$4,500 Real Minds AI working session buy workshops with your team and a costed plan.
For hourly and day rates, see our AI cost guide for Australia (2026). If the advice points to a build, our guide to hiring AI developers in Australia and what they cost covers the next step. FactoryJet does not publish a rate card. We quote a fixed price per stage after a free call.
What are some consulting firms in Australia? The large firms buyers ask about
Buyers ask about the Big Four (Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG) and a few other large names. All of them advise on AI. We read each firm’s own AI pages on 9 October 2026 and report what they say. We did not rank them, and we could not confirm on those pages how small a job each will take.
| Firm | What its own AI page says | Source (read 9 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Deloitte Australia | Its AI and data page covers work from defining an AI strategy to building bespoke AI solutions, and points to its Deloitte AI Institute. | www.deloitte.com/au/en/services/consulting/services/artificial-intelligence-and-data.html |
| PwC Australia | Lists AI strategy, AI solutions, workforce redesign and AI Trust, its name for guardrails and governance. It also offers an AI Skills Scanner, a diagnostic that measures workforce AI capability. | www.pwc.com.au/services/artificial-intelligence.html |
| EY Australia | Sells its AI work under the EY.ai name. It says it embeds responsible AI principles into strategy, design and deployment, with governance frameworks and assessment tools. | www.ey.com/en_au/services/ai/platform |
| KPMG Australia | Says its work is governed by a Trusted AI Framework and assured by ISO 42001 certification. It runs a separate mid-market and private practice for technology, data and AI. | kpmg.com/au/en/services/ai-services.html |
| Accenture | Its global AI and data page talks about scaling generative AI across business functions and putting responsible AI into day-to-day operation. | www.accenture.com/en/services/ai-data |
| Protiviti Australia | Says its AI consulting team helps organisations identify high-value use cases, build AI solutions and embed the controls needed to manage risk, privacy, security and regulatory expectations. | www.protiviti.com/au-en/artificial-intelligence-services |
| Nous Group | An international consultancy of 600 people. It says it supports organisations to adopt AI responsibly by setting up governance, building capability and finding opportunities. | nousgroup.com/about-nous/our-commitments/responsible-ai |
A large firm makes sense when AI touches many divisions at once, or when a board needs formal assurance from a name it knows. KPMG is the one that describes a separate mid-market practice on the pages we read. For one or two use cases in a business of 20 to 500 people, a smaller firm from the city lists above will usually put more senior people on the work.
Local adviser, large firm or remote adviser that builds: an honest comparison
| Local consultancy | Large consulting firm | Remote adviser that builds (e.g. FactoryJet) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | Often the founders. Real Minds AI, Synap and Humanising Technologies name them on their sites | A larger team. Ask who is on it day to day | Senior engineers, with the founder involved in every engagement |
| In the room | Yes, in their own city | Ask which office would staff your work | Video workshops in Australian business hours |
| Size of job that fits | One team and one to a few use cases | Programs across many divisions | One use case, up to the build that follows it |
| Governance depth | Varies. RUBIX and Melotti AI Ethics Consulting specialise in it | Formal frameworks. KPMG cites ISO 42001 certification and PwC has AI Trust | An AI usage policy and a Privacy Act check inside the plan. No legal sign-off |
How to choose an AI consultancy in Australia: 7 steps
Open each step for the detail.
1. Name the job you need done
Pick from the five: a readiness assessment, a strategy, governance and policy, training, or help choosing a tool. Most businesses need one or two. A firm that is strong at training is not always the firm to write a governance framework for a regulator.
2. Use your city list and your size
Cross off any firm whose typical client looks nothing like you. Yes AI says its audit rarely pays off under about 20 staff. JOURN3Y starts at 100 people. Integrity Ai is set up for small businesses and boards.
3. Check four things on the firm’s own site
An Australian address. The name of the person who will do the work. A written description of what you receive. A view on when not to use AI. Yes AI, Sunburnt AI and Real Minds AI all say on their sites that they will tell you when AI, or a build, is not the answer.
4. Ask whether the adviser also builds
Thirteen of the 15 firms here do, including us. That is not a fault, since a builder knows what holds up against real systems. Ask how the advice stays honest. Two good signs are a roadmap you own and no commission on software.
5. Buy a small paid first step
Published first steps from Real Minds AI, Synap and Yes AI run from A$400 to A$4,500 and take from three hours to three weeks. Agree in writing what document you hold at the end. Be wary of a free assessment whose only output is a quote for a build.
6. Settle data and privacy early
Ask where your data will be stored and processed, and which AI providers will see it. The OAIC recommends that organisations do not enter personal information into publicly available generative AI tools. If the project will help make decisions about people, ask about the privacy policy change that starts on 10 December 2026.
7. Agree what happens after the advice
Agree who builds, who trains your staff, who reviews the policy in six months and who signs off each step. A plan with no owner goes nowhere. If the adviser will not build, ask how the builder is chosen. If it will, ask what support looks like after launch.
Australian rules an AI adviser should raise with you
A good adviser brings these up before you do. We read each source on 9 October 2026. We are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice.
- The Privacy Act 1988. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) says the Privacy Act applies to all uses of AI involving personal information. Its guidance on commercially available AI products tells businesses to do due diligence before adopting a product, to take a privacy by design approach that includes a Privacy Impact Assessment, and to update privacy policies. As best practice, it recommends that organisations do not enter personal information, and particularly sensitive information, into publicly available generative AI tools.
- Automated decisions, from 10 December 2026. The OAIC’s guidelines on Australian Privacy Principle 1 say that from that date an organisation must add information to its privacy policy if it has arranged for a computer program to use personal information to make a decision, or to do something substantially and directly related to making one, that could reasonably be expected to significantly affect a person’s rights or interests.
- The six essential practices. The National AI Centre’s Guidance for AI adoption sets out six: decide who is accountable, understand impacts and plan accordingly, measure and manage risks, share essential information, test and monitor, and maintain human control. It comes in a foundations version for early and low-risk use and an implementation version for complex and higher-risk use.
- If you sell to a Commonwealth agency. The Policy for the responsible use of AI in government, version 2.0, took effect on 15 December 2025 and applies to non-corporate Commonwealth entities, with some exceptions. Its mandatory requirements include accountable officials, transparency statements, internal use case registers, staff training and AI use case impact assessments. Expect your buyer to ask you for what it needs to meet them.
- If you sell to a NSW agency. The NSW AI Assessment Framework is mandatory for NSW Government agencies when they design, develop, deploy, procure or use systems with AI components. From 30 September 2026 agencies must register and assess new AI use cases on the framework’s platform.
Firms name different documents. AI Consulting Group and RUBIX both cite the Voluntary AI Safety Standard and its 10 guardrails on their sites. The National AI Centre pages we read set out six essential practices. Ask your adviser which document your plan follows, and why.
One number for context. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that 12 percent of Australian businesses used AI in 2024 to 2025, up from 1 percent in its previous survey. On that figure, most Australian businesses had not yet started.
Where FactoryJet fits
We are FactoryJet. We have served 500+ businesses since 2014, most of that time in commerce: online stores, B2B ordering and the operations behind them. Our founder, Bhavesh Barot, is involved in every engagement. Before a contract, we show working software on your own data.
Where we fit: a small or mid-size Australian business that wants the readiness assessment, the use case shortlist and the AI usage policy from the same team that will build the first system. Businesses that sell online or run order-heavy operations get the most from us, because that is where we have worked longest.
We are not lawyers, and nothing we write is legal sign-off. You own the report and can take it to any builder.
If you do not know which kind of advice you need
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Bhavesh Barot
Founder & CEO
Founder & CEO of FactoryJet, an ecommerce and AI services company that has served 500+ businesses across the US, UK, UAE, and India. Writes about ecommerce builds, AI agents, and AI search.
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