Run the AI where your data already lives. Deploy the AI platform on-prem, in an Australian private cloud or with an Australian hosting provider, use models that can run inside that environment, and route every model call through a gateway you control. For Australian Government data, check the hosting requirements of the Hosting Certification Framework.
- The Hosting Certification Framework applies to government customers procuring hosting for high-value data, whole-of-government systems or PROTECTED systems.Digital Transformation Agency, Hosting Certification Framework
- The OAIC advises against entering personal information into publicly available generative AI tools.OAIC, Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products (Oct 2024)
- Under the National AI Plan, every Australian Government agency will nominate a Chief AI Officer.ACS, Australia's new National AI Plan: top 9 highlights
- 68% of executives find data residency and sovereignty requirements challenging.IBM Institute for Business Value, The Calculus of AI Sovereignty (17 Jun 2026)
Why 'onshore' is harder with AI
Traditional systems keep data in a database you choose. AI adds a new data path: every prompt, document and answer travels to a model. If that model runs on a provider's infrastructure overseas, your data travels with it, whatever your database settings say.
Three ways to keep it in Australia
On-prem: the platform and models run in your own data centre. Private cloud: a dedicated environment with an Australian provider. In-country managed: a single-tenant deployment in an Australian region with contractual and technical residency controls. The right choice depends on data classification, scale and your security team's requirements.
What government teams need to know
The Australian Government's Hosting Certification Framework, now run by the Department of Home Affairs, sets requirements for hosting high-value government data, whole-of-government systems and PROTECTED systems. Under the National AI Plan, agencies are also appointing Chief AI Officers, which makes AI hosting decisions a governance matter, not just procurement.
Questions to ask any AI vendor
Where do the models run, exactly? Which other companies process our prompts? Can we choose or swap the model? Is the deployment single-tenant? Where are logs stored and who can read them? If the answers aren't specific, the data probably isn't staying onshore.
How BLDR does it
BLDR deploys as a dedicated platform on-prem, in a private cloud or in-country. You choose where your AI runs, and every model call passes through the BLDR gateway, logged and governed by your policy. Product and engineering are based in Sydney, with Australian support.
Questions people also ask
Does using an Australian cloud region make AI onshore?
Do private companies need Hosting Certification Framework providers?
Where is Inova based in Australia?
Ask us the hard questions. We publish the answers.
Where models run, who processes your data, how you exit, what it costs. Our answers are on the Trust page and in the security pack, and our work is on the record.
- Digital Transformation Agency, Hosting Certification Framework
- Department of Home Affairs, Hosting Certification Framework
- OAIC, Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products (Oct 2024)
- ACS, Australia's new National AI Plan: top 9 highlights
- IBM Institute for Business Value, The Calculus of AI Sovereignty (17 Jun 2026)