AI-driven software to unlock AUD $6 billion a year for Australia

A study of C-level executives in Australia has found that AI-driven software innovation is contributing to significant revenue growth, but also reveals challenges in skills, governance, and the balance between human and machine collaboration.

The research, commissioned by GitLab and conducted by The Harris Poll, surveyed 259 C-suite leaders across the country to gauge the economic impact of software innovation and artificial intelligence in the workplace. The report estimates that AI investments in software could unlock as much as AUD $6 billion a year in value for the Australian economy.

Financial impact

Australian executives reported an average annual saving of AUD $31,223 per software developer through AI investment, which, when projected across the country's developer workforce of 185,000, could total AUD $5.77 billion in economic value. In addition to cost savings, the report states that organisations have seen a 34% increase in revenue and a 40% increase in developer productivity attributed to AI use.

AI-powered software has also had a positive effect on customer experience, with 59% of respondents saying they have observed improvement in this area during the past year. The survey found that 89% of executives view software innovation as a core business priority.

Human-AI collaboration

The report highlights ongoing challenges in balancing the roles of human and artificial intelligence. Although C-suite leaders aspire to a 50/50 split between human and AI contributions, they estimate that currently humans undertake approximately 75% of the work, with AI accounting for the remaining quarter. Amid this dynamic, 99% of executives stated that human expertise remains valuable in software development.

Skill gaps are also a prominent concern, driving the need for upskilling and new training initiatives. The vast majority (91%) of surveyed executives believe companies should prioritise equipping staff to work effectively alongside agentic AI. As organisations weigh the right mix of involvement, three-quarters of respondents maintain that human input in the human-AI partnership should be at least equal to or greater than that of AI, with only 24% thinking AI should take the lead.

Strategic vision and creativity were named as the most prized human skills, valued at 40% and 39% of respondents respectively.

Governance and security

With rapid advances in agentic AI, defined as AI capable of autonomous action and decision-making, Australian executives are focused on governance, security, and ethics. The report shows that 90% anticipate agentic AI becoming the standard for software development within three years.

Still, concerns persist regarding data privacy, cybersecurity threats, and oversight, with 52% of executives citing data privacy and security as their main concern, followed by 42% worried about cybersecurity threats and 41% focused on governance requirements. To address these issues, more than half (53%) say their organisations are developing regulatory-aligned governance frameworks for AI, 46% are establishing AI ethics committees, and 44% are instituting third-party audits.

Board-level priority

The importance of software innovation extends to the boardroom. The survey reports that 93% of executives say their board is supportive of software innovation initiatives. In terms of investment, 84% are willing to allocate more than half of their IT budget to these priorities, while 88% have adopted frameworks linking software development to business outcomes.

The metrics being used to assess the success of software innovation efforts include increased business growth (37%), enhanced developer productivity (37%), and improved customer experiences (35%).

Industry perspectives

"AI-fuelled software innovation is an undeniable source of competitive advantage and economic impact, with 89% of executives in Australia saying that it's now a core business priority," said Craig Nielsen, vice president of Asia Pacific & Japan at GitLab. "The companies pulling ahead are the ones blending AI with human expertise, leveraging agentic AI with intention, aligning software strategy with business value, and building guardrails to innovate responsibly. With AUD$4 billion per year in potential value at stake, the organisations that optimise this human-AI partnership today will define the future of software tomorrow."

The report defines software innovation as "creating new or significantly enhancing existing software to introduce novel capabilities, improve efficiency, or solve problems in new ways."

With artificial intelligence integration accelerating across sectors, the findings indicate that Australian businesses are focused on unlocking value while addressing skill gaps, governance, and security fast enough to keep pace with technological change.