AI is replacing some office roles in Australia: what Kenyan professionals should check before applying

News · 2026-10-07 · 5 min read

Two Kenyan professionals talk at a meeting table in a sunlit office overlooking Sydney Harbour.

If you work in an office in Nairobi or Mombasa and you are thinking about Australia, one piece of news deserves your attention: employment lawyers there now say they handle cases of white-collar workers being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) on a weekly basis. At the same time, survey research shows that one in three Australians wish they had chosen a different career. This is not a reason to drop your plans. It is a reason to choose the kind of role you apply for with open eyes.

Roles where the effect is clearest

An employment law specialist said it had become fairly common to take on cases of office workers made redundant because of AI. The biggest impact she has seen is in copywriting, coding, data analytics and administration, because many of those duties can now be done by AI to some extent. She said lawyers were not even thinking about this two years ago, and that her practice probably handles redundancies of this kind every week.

She added that Australia has some protection because it has a large number of physical jobs, but she did not think the country was ready at all for a major shift. Unions, she expects, will push in coming enterprise agreement negotiations for clauses that stop employees being replaced with AI, or for higher redundancy payments when that happens. A media union last year struck a deal with an independent publisher saying AI would not replace human workers.

What workers themselves report

Finding	Result
Have not yet felt AI's impact on their work	About half of Australians surveyed
Would have chosen a different career had they known how widespread AI would become	32 per cent
Do not feel prepared for major changes	About 40 per cent

What politicians and government say

An independent senator for the ACT accused the federal government of a hands-off approach and said thousands of jobs had already been lost, adding that unemployment reaching 10 per cent was not out of the question if the technology advanced too fast. He supported a National Artificial Intelligence Act, which the government chose not to proceed with, and questioned how effective voluntary standards would be.

The government's position is more positive. Its National AI Plan aims to help Australia capture the opportunities and spread the benefits while keeping people safe, with secure, ongoing work central. Early data from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations suggests AI has not yet produced a faster-than-usual change in the shape of the workforce, though these are described as observations, not predictions. The government has moved to set up an AI Safety Institute and, in March, released expectations for data centres built on five principles. A business academic at a Sydney university said Australia may have left its workforce unknowingly exposed because office jobs have grown while manufacturing has shrunk, and noted that white-collar work in the US fell in 2025.

What this means for a Kenyan applicant

Look closely at the duties in any job you consider. If most of them are drafting, routine coding, data summaries or basic admin, ask how the employer expects the role to evolve.
Describe the human parts of your work: client contact, judgement and specialist knowledge.
Keep evidence ready: KCSE results, degree transcripts, KNEC or NITA certificates and references. A local qualification never automatically equals an Australian licence, skills assessment or registration.
Present yourself well with Build AI CV, and keep a verified profile current.
If you use an adviser, check a MARA registration for Australia, or a licensed immigration adviser or lawfully exempt person for New Zealand.

Common mistakes when reading AI job news

The first is panic. Early government data shows no faster change in workforce shape so far, and the government says so itself. The second is the opposite: assuming nothing will change. The third is ignoring other kinds of work; Australia has many physical jobs, and trades and care roles are listed on the jobs page. The fourth is leaving a role description unread. For more, see why skilled migration pathways matter as AI reshapes office work and why aspiring tech migrants need a plan B.

Questions readers in Kenya ask

Are Australian office jobs disappearing?

Lawyers report redundancies linked to AI, but early government data suggests the workforce has not changed faster than usual so far.

Which roles are most affected?

Copywriting, coding, data analytics and administration, according to the specialist's experience.

Is there a law on AI in Australia?

The government chose not to proceed with a National Artificial Intelligence Act and has set expectations for industry instead.

Do unions have a role?

They are expected to seek clauses that stop AI replacing staff or lift redundancy payments.

What to remember

Lawyers say AI-linked white-collar redundancies are weekly cases.
Copywriting, coding, data analytics and administration are the areas named.
Government data so far shows no faster workforce change.
Check duties, keep evidence ready and use verified advisers.

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