What Happened
The Small to Medium Enterprise Centre of AI (SMEC AI) has opened a free national phone line to give Australian small and medium businesses practical guidance on artificial intelligence. The service is reachable on 1800 517 403 and through smecai.au, and it operates under the Australian Government's AI Adopt program.
The launch took place in Melbourne at an event co-hosted with the National AI Centre (NAIC). NAIC Executive Director Lee Hickin joined a panel discussion on Australia's National AI Strategy and what broader AI adoption across the economy could look like in practice.
Why It Matters
The gap between owning an AI tool and actually using it well is wide for most small businesses. More than half of SME workforces have only a basic or novice familiarity with AI, and around a third of non-adopting businesses told researchers they simply don't know where to begin. That is the specific problem this service is designed to address.
The economic stakes are not small. Deloitte Access Economics modelling from November 2025, commissioned by Amazon, put a figure on it: around A$44 billion could be added to Australia's economy each year if just one in ten lower-maturity Australian SMBs moved up a single rung on the AI maturity ladder. Two-thirds of Australian SMBs now use AI in some form, but only about five per cent are using it to anywhere near its full potential.
Key Details
The AI Information Line is described by SMEC AI as a "national front door to AI" for small businesses. In a statement, the organisation said: "Most small businesses don't stall on AI because they aren't interested. They stall because they don't know where to start, and they can't afford to get it wrong."
The service is free and nationally available. SMEC AI framed the intent plainly: "The AI Information Line removes that first barrier. We built this under the AI Adopt program so that trustworthy AI assistance isn't a privilege of big companies with big budgets."
NAIC Executive Director Lee Hickin addressed the broader policy context at the Melbourne launch. "Australia's opportunity in AI will be shaped by how confidently our small and medium businesses can adopt it, safely, and purposefully. That means meeting them where they are, with practical and responsible support," Hickin said. He added that "initiatives that are built to a high standard of safety and accountability help give the SME sector a clearer, more confident path to adopt AI, and that is good for the whole economy."
Background and Context
SMEC AI sits within the federal government's AI Adopt program, which was established to lift AI capability across Australian industry. The National AI Centre, which co-hosted the Melbourne launch, has a broader remit to coordinate national AI strategy and connect businesses with practical resources.
The Deloitte Access Economics research from November 2025 provides the clearest recent picture of where Australian SMBs actually stand. While adoption rates have climbed, depth of use has not kept pace. Around two-thirds of SMBs now use AI in some form, but the five per cent figure for meaningful use points to a large group of businesses running AI tools without extracting real value from them.
What Comes Next
The AI Information Line is now live. SMEC AI has not announced a time-limited trial period, so the service appears intended as a permanent resource. The organisation has indicated the line is available to any small or medium business in the country.