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jdcs.au · Mid North Coast, NSW

Free course · Australian business · 5 lessons · about 46 min

By JDCS · Updated 6 August 2026

Know what you're allowed to do.

Work out what your business is actually allowed to do with AI. Five short lessons on where your data goes when you use the common tools, the Australian obligations that apply, what open models genuinely run on hardware you own, what that costs at real Australian prices, and the hybrid setup most businesses should land on. Honest about when the right answer is to keep the cloud tool you already have.

Start lesson 1 Get the workbook

Written for firms holding client files, patient records or commercial terms they can't afford to leak. General information, not legal advice, and honest about when the right answer is to keep the cloud tool you already have.

What you'll learn
Lesson 1 Where your data actually goes The consumer and enterprise split is the distinction most coverage gets wrong. Two documented cases show exactly what it decided, plus the difference between where data is stored and whose laws can compel it. 8 min
Lesson 2 What you're actually allowed to do The Australian obligations map: the disclosure rule landing 10 December 2026, the small business exemption myth doing the rounds, the tax and AML duties that never expire, and the framework that replaced the ten guardrails. 9 min
Lesson 3 What runs on your own hardware Open-weight models in plain English: how far behind the frontier they really sit, the jobs they handle well, and why a small gap is invisible on some work and decisive on other work. 8 min
Lesson 4 What it costs, honestly Australian hardware prices, the seat count where owning starts to pay, the costs everyone leaves out of the sums, and the documented record of cloud AI prices moving in both directions. 10 min
Lesson 5 The hybrid that actually works Classify red, amber and green, de-identify the middle tier, and put one gateway in so the rules are enforceable. Plus how to pick a first project, and why permissions sink more of these than models do. 11 min

Work through them in order. The single way in is lesson 1.

Pick it back up anywhere.

Start it on the train, finish it at the desk. Save your spot and we'll email a link that resumes the course on any device. No account, no password.

Pick up anywhere

Save your progress

Pop your email in and we'll send you a link to pick up where you left off, on any device. No account needed.

Just for the link to your progress. No spam, and I never share your details.

Map your own data.

An hour with a coffee and a list of your tools. You'll come out with an inventory of what leaves the building today, a red, amber and green classification of your own information, an obligations checklist, a first-project brief, and the cloud versus private sum done with your seat count in it. Want just the gist? There's a free one-page summary too.

Free download

Get the private AI workbook

Pop your email in and the fill-in workbook is yours: a data inventory, a red, amber and green classification grid, an obligations checklist, a first-project brief, and the break-even maths for your team size. Type into it or print it.

Your email gets you the workbook, that's it. No spam, and I never share your details.

Prefer the quick version? Read the free one-page summary →

Before you start.

Is the course really free?
Yes, completely. All five lessons are free to read with no sign-up. If you'd like the fill-in workbook to map your own data and run the break-even maths, that's a quick email, and that's the only thing asked for anywhere on here. There's a free one-page summary too, with nothing asked for.
Who is this for?
Owners, practice managers and office leads at Australian businesses that handle information they can't afford to leak: accounting and legal practices, clinics, agencies, and any firm with a confidentiality clause in a client contract. No technical background needed, and nothing here assumes you'll buy hardware.
Is this legal advice?
No. It's general information from a consultancy that helps Australian businesses use AI sensibly. It points at the guidance and the dates that exist, in plain English. For what your own obligations require, check with your lawyer, your accountant or your professional body, because the answer turns on facts about your business that a course can't know.
Will you tell me to buy a server?
Probably not. Below roughly 30 seats, running AI on your own hardware usually loses on cost alone, and lesson four walks the arithmetic so you can see it. Most businesses should land on a hybrid: sensitive work stays in, everything else goes to a cloud tool set up properly. Sometimes the honest answer is to keep the tool you already have.
How long does it take?
About 46 minutes across five lessons. Read it in one sitting, or take a lesson at a time between meetings.
Is this just a sales pitch?
No. The test we set ourselves is that you finish able to make this decision yourself, including the decision to spend nothing. JDCS does build private setups when they're warranted, and lesson five is candid about how often they aren't. If you'd like a second opinion at the end, the first conversation costs nothing and the thinking is yours to keep.
Keep exploring

Want to go further on the parts that touch your own obligations?

Local and private AI builds When the honest answer is that no off-the-shelf tool will do: AI that runs on hardware you own, documented so you could hand it to someone else. Open Course: AI policy for Australian SMBs The companion course. Turn the decisions in here into a one-page policy your team will actually follow. Open Guide: is your data safe with AI? The shorter read on what the common tools do with what you type, and the settings worth checking today. Open
When you're ready

Want a written answer for your firm?

Once you know which of your work is red, amber and green, the next step is a plain-English verdict on the tools your team already uses, and a costed path if part of it genuinely needs to stay in the building. That first conversation is free, and the thinking is yours to keep either way.

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