OVIC sets limits on GenAI tool use in external meetings

The Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC) has drawn a clear line when it comes to the insertion of generative AI into meetings between its staff and external parties.

In recently issued guidance, the state’s privacy regulator said it prefers that external participants refrain from using GenAI services to record, transcribe, summarise, or draft minutes of meetings, especially when discussions involve sensitive issues.

More firmly, OVIC has explicitly banned the use of publicly available GenAI tools during meetings involving its staff, both online and in-person. 

Tools such as the free versions of ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Grammarly, Claude, Perplexity, Otter, QuillBot and Meta’s Llama were previously flagged in OVIC guidance.

Use of these tools may be permitted on a “case-by-case basis,” provided they are securely managed, restricted to authorised users, and not accessible outside the organisation.

However, their use remains subject to the context and risk profile of the meeting.

The updated guidance applies to a wide range of stakeholders, including state agencies, local councils, contractors, and members of the public, all of whom are expected to inform OVIC staff at the outset if a GenAI tool is in use, what tool it is and how its outputs will be handled.

In sensitive meetings where a GenAI tool is active, OVIC said its staff may choose to “participate at a high level only”.

If a tool is used clandestinely, OVIC said staff may request details, including copies of minutes generated, to verify that the record accurately reflects what was said.

The guidance builds on OVIC’s broader advice issued earlier this year, which warned Victorian government agencies against entering personal information into public GenAI platforms.

It also advised that inputs be limited to publicly available or pre-approved information.