CANBERRA — Australia’s climate change department should cut some internal policy budgets by as much as 30% and use artificial intelligence to achieve annual efficiencies of up to 3%, according to a government review aimed at preserving funding for the department’s highest priorities. The May 2026 review by the Australian Government Consulting unit recommended that department executives take money from policy groups and pool it centrally for redistribution. The report called for a levy of 5% to 30% on those budgets, describing the measure as an “immediate fiscal imperative.” “The proposed approach requires all groups to contribute to a central funding pool that is reallocated to the highest departmental priorities,” the report said. The recommendations come after the department was allocated A$188 million less in Australia’s 2026 federal budget. Its funding is projected to fall to A$747 million in 2028-29, compared with A$1.09 billion in the current financial year. The review presents AI-enabled savings as one route to easing the pressure, but the available details do not specify which tasks would be automated or how the proposed efficiencies would be measured. The proposed budget levy is a recommendation, not evidence that the cuts have been implemented.