AI Governance Framework
Aligned to ISO 42001, NIST AI RMF, and Australia's Guidance for AI Adoption.
An AI Governance Framework is the practical set of policies, accountability structures and controls that let an organisation deploy responsible AI. It covers ethics, risk, data governance and regulatory compliance. Avocado builds and implements frameworks aligned to global standards including ISO/IEC 42001, the Australian Government's Guidance for AI Adoption (which replaced the Voluntary AI Safety Standard in October 2025), the US NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of AI. This is a build-and-implement engagement - we can also review your current frameworks against the evolving landscape.
You'll recognise the situation
You're deploying ChatGPT, Copilot or another AI tool enterprise-wide with no clear policy on what it should access.
Your board or regulators are asking how AI risk is being managed, and you don't yet have a documented answer.
You're scaling from ad-hoc pilots to enterprise deployment and need real accountability structures, not good intentions.
You're working toward ISO 42001 alignment or certification and need practical implementation support, not just a document.
Eight governance modules, tailored to your organisation
Foundational concepts & principles
Establishes the foundation for safe, responsible AI use at the organisational level.
Ethical guidelines
Fairness, transparency and accountability in how AI is deployed.
Regulatory compliance
Alignment with Australian laws including the Privacy Act and Australia's Guidance for AI Adoption.
Risk management
Identifying and mitigating risks such as algorithmic bias, security vulnerabilities and unintended consequences.
Transparency & explainability
Making AI decisions and processes understandable to the stakeholders affected by them.
Accountability
Clear roles and responsibilities so individuals and teams are accountable for AI outcomes.
Data governance
Proper handling, quality and protection of the data AI relies on, delivered through your Lakehouse and AI-ready foundation.
Monitoring & auditing
Ongoing monitoring for model drift and behaviour changes, especially as underlying model versions change.
Assess, plan, implement, certify, sustain
Gap analysis
Evaluate existing AI practices — data governance, security, model development, stakeholder engagement — against ISO 42001 and related benchmarks.
Strategy & roadmap
Build a customised implementation plan aligned to your goals, risk appetite and existing policies, including the six essential practices in Australia's Guidance for AI Adoption.
Implement & integrate
Develop policies and procedures, set up risk monitoring and auditing tooling, and support the change management needed for adoption.
Audit preparedness
Guide internal audits and, where certification is pursued, run mock audits to catch issues proactively.
Ongoing compliance
KPIs and dashboards to track compliance over time, plus training so conformance is sustained as AI and regulation evolve.
Governance you can actually operate
Beyond policy, we put practical mechanisms in place: a designated executive oversight committee with clear accountability; human-in-the-loop override and escalation for high-stakes use cases; formal challenge and appeal processes for individuals affected by AI-driven decisions; and supply-chain transparency with AI vendors, including model documentation and risk visibility.
Governance you can actually operate
Delivered as a structured, multi-week engagement combining workshops and stakeholder reviews, scoped to your size and current governance maturity. Contact us for a tailored quote.
A governance framework sets the rules. Observability shows whether your AI systems are following them. Avocado’s Observability practice monitors AI across your whole stack: the models and agents, and the applications, infrastructure and data pipelines they depend on. You get the ongoing monitoring that ISO 42001 and the NIST AI RMF expect, including drift, accuracy, cost and behaviour over time, so your framework holds up after go-live.
Common questions
What is ISO 42001?
ISO/IEC 42001 is an international standard for establishing, implementing and continually improving an Artificial Intelligence Management System — covering risk, fairness and transparency in how AI is deployed.
Do we need certification, or just alignment?
Either is possible — many organisations start with alignment to the principles and practical implementation, then decide separately whether to pursue formal certification.
How is this different from a maturity assessment?
This is the build-and-implement engagement that designs and embeds the actual framework. If you already have something, we can review and benchmark it against the evolving standards landscape.
How long does it take?
Typically a multi-week engagement combining workshops and stakeholder reviews, scoped to your size and starting point.
What happens after the framework is built?
Ongoing compliance management — KPIs, dashboards and periodic review — since AI governance must adapt as your AI use, regulations and models change.
Ready to govern AI responsibly?
Talk to us about where your organisation stands and what a practical framework would look like.