The Queensland Government, in partnership with Australia’s National AI Centre, will host two free Microsoft Copilot training sessions on July 7, 2026, at The Precinct in Fortitude Valley. The workshops aim to equip workers with practical AI skills directly inside Microsoft 365 applications—turning popular tools like Word, Excel, and Teams into productivity powerhouses.

Registration is open to professionals across all industries, with a focus on hands-on learning rather than abstract theory. The sessions are the latest effort in a national push to close the AI skills gap and embed responsible AI practices in everyday work.

Free Copilot Workshops Land in Brisbane

The National AI Centre—a CSIRO-led government initiative—recently listed the two instructor-led sessions on its public events calendar. Each runs for approximately three hours and covers the same curriculum: an introduction to generative AI inside the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, followed by guided exercises in prompting, summarization, data analysis, and content generation.

Attendees will work through real-world scenarios using their own devices, with instructors from the Queensland Government’s digital capability team. Topics include:

  • Drafting and refining documents in Word with Copilot
  • Analyzing spreadsheets and generating insights in Excel
  • Summarizing email threads and meetings in Outlook and Teams
  • Building presentations from simple text prompts in PowerPoint

The curriculum also weaves in Australia’s AI Ethics Principles, developed by the federal government in 2019. Participants will learn to spot bias, verify AI-generated outputs, and apply accountability frameworks when using Copilot in professional settings.

Who Should Attend and What They’ll Learn

These workshops are designed for workers with little to no prior experience using AI tools. Whether you’re a public servant, small-business owner, accountant, teacher, or project manager, the sessions promise to make Copilot feel less like a novelty and more like a daily collaborator.

Rather than deep technical dives, the training focuses on practical gains: automating repetitive tasks, jump-starting creative work, and freeing up mental bandwidth for higher-value decisions. For managers, there’s guidance on how to integrate Copilot into team workflows without overwhelming staff or compromising data security.

Home users and sole traders will find value in sessions that demystify AI-assisted productivity. IT professionals can observe how a government body is approaching user enablement—a blueprint they might replicate inside their own organizations.

The Bigger Picture: AI Literacy as a National Priority

Australia has been methodically building a national AI capability since 2019. The AI Ethics Framework, the creation of the National AI Centre in 2021, and the 2023–24 Federal Budget’s $101.2 million package for AI adoption all signal that the government sees literacy as a prerequisite for economic competitiveness.

Yet workplace surveys paint a stark picture. A 2025 RMIT Online study found that only 17% of Australian workers felt confident using generative AI tools, despite 74% expecting AI to significantly change their jobs within five years. Free, government-backed training sessions like the Brisbane workshops try to bridge that gap without the cost barriers of private bootcamps.

Microsoft’s aggressive rollout of Copilot across M365—starting with enterprise in early 2024 and expanding to small businesses and consumers—has created a parallel urgency. As Copilot appears inside applications used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide, the risk of misuse or underuse grows. Hands-on training can transform Copilot from a pop-up annoyance into a genuine force multiplier.

How to Secure a Spot

Registration is via the National AI Centre’s events page. The two sessions are identical, so most people need attend only one. Capacity is limited by venue size, and demand is expected to be high—the Centre’s earlier cybersecurity and data literacy workshops filled within days.

Both sessions run on July 7, 2026:

  • Morning: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM AEST
  • Afternoon: 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM AEST

What to bring: a laptop or tablet with Wi-Fi capability and a work or personal Microsoft 365 account that includes Copilot access. Not everyone has a Copilot license yet. Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers can use Copilot’s consumer features; Business Standard and Premium subscribers include Copilot in select plans. If you don’t have access, the organisers may provide temporary accounts for the session—check with the registration team.

For those outside Brisbane, the National AI Centre plans to release on-demand recordings and facilitator guides in the weeks following the event. Sign up for their newsletter to be notified.

What’s Next for AI Training in Australia

The Fortitude Valley workshops are likely just the start. The Queensland Government has signaled it wants to run a second series in regional centres later in 2026, possibly in Townsville and Toowoomba. The National AI Centre is also developing a micro-credentialed program in responsible AI, which could give attendees a portable certification to list on their CVs.

Meanwhile, Microsoft itself is leaning heavily into free education. The company’s AI Skills Initiative offers self-paced learning paths for Copilot, and its global “AI National Skills Initiative” partners with governments to co-fund training. Expect more cross-sector collaborations like the Brisbane workshops as Australia races toward its goal of becoming a top-five digital economy by 2030.

For individual workers, the message is clear: the tools are here, the knowledge is available, and the gap between those who master AI and those who ignore it is about to widen dramatically.