Australia's AI Scribes Dodge Safety Assessments as Adoption Doubles in 16 Months

Australian GPs' use of AI scribes nearly doubled from 22% to 40% between August 2024 and November 2025. Yet the technology operates outside mandatory safety review. Under the Therapeutic Goods Act, scribes that merely document—rather than make clinical recommendations—evade TGA classification as medical devices. This means no pre-market accuracy testing, no adverse-event reporting, and no baseline data-handling standards. Australia's health regulator is considering safeguards, but none have been announced.