AI is already appearing in workplace investigations, DLA Piper research finds

AI is no longer only a productivity and technology issue for employers. New DLA Piper research shows AI use and misuse is already featuring in workplace investigations across Australia and New Zealand.

The findings come from The AI Year, DLA Piper’s global 360° investigation of the AI ecosystem, based on a survey of 975 leaders across 13 markets and five sectors. 

In Australia and New Zealand, 53 percent of respondents say AI use or misuse has already been a factor in internal investigations relating to employee conduct or compliance. A further 33 percent say AI use or misuse has featured in disciplinary proceedings related to employee conduct. 

The research also found that 68 percent of ANZ respondents believe their organisation should be concerned about a wave of unfair dismissal cases related to unclear, outdated and ill-conceived AI use and disclosure policies. 

Carl Blake, an employment partner at DLA Piper in New Zealand, says the challenge for employers is balancing innovation with workforce trust.

“Organisations are encouraging employees to create value with AI, but the employment framework needs to keep pace. That means training, consultation where required, clear accountability for AI-assisted decisions and practical controls that managers can actually apply.

“The risk is not solved by banning tools or limiting access. Employers need a defensible process for how AI is introduced, used, monitored and relied on in employment decisions.”

The research found that 69 percent of ANZ respondents say their organisation takes a hard line on employee AI use, limiting staff to a narrow set of sanctioned tools and use cases. However, 16 percent say their organisation does not have a clear point of view on AI use, leaving employees to fill in the gaps themselves. 

At the same time, AI is already reshaping workforce strategy. Seventy-five percent of ANZ respondents say AI adoption has directly affected the number of new people their organisation will hire and in what roles, while 44 percent of ANZ AI adopters identify reskilling and redesigning the workforce for AI as a top 2026 priority – eight percentage points above the global average. 

In Australia, government guidance for AI adoption emphasises accountability, risk management, human oversight, transparency, and appropriate governance. In New Zealand, the Government's Responsible AI Guidance for Businesses emphasises governance and accountability, cybersecurity, procurement, staff capability, privacy, transparency and human oversight. 

Mitch Robertson, an employment partner at DLA Piper in Australia says employers should avoid treating AI policy as an IT-only issue.

“AI is now part of workplace conduct, performance, hiring, restructuring and disciplinary risk. Employers need to be clear about permitted use, disclosure obligations, confidentiality, supervision, human review and the consequences of misuse.

“The employment risk is not only that staff use AI without approval. It is also that employers use AI in ways that affect employees without sufficient transparency, procedural fairness or human oversight.”

Laura Scampion, country managing partner in New Zealand, says the findings should prompt employers to review AI-related policies alongside broader employment, privacy, confidentiality, discrimination, restructuring and disciplinary frameworks.

“Employers should be asking practical questions now. Which tools are we providing access to and which tools are we prohibiting the use of? What information can be input into AI tools by employees and for what purpose? When must AI use be disclosed by an employee? What decisions still require human oversight or review? How are our managers being trained on each AI tool currently in use? These are the questions that will matter if AI use is later challenged”, Laura said.