DeepSeek models in Australia
DeepSeek is a Chinese AI lab whose general and reasoning models drew global attention for strong performance relative to their training cost. DeepSeek releases model weights under a permissive licence, so the same models can be used through DeepSeek's own app and API or run independently on other infrastructure.
That distinction matters in Australia. DeepSeek's privacy policy states that it collects, processes and stores personal data in the People's Republic of China, and in February 2025 the Australian Government directed agencies to remove DeepSeek products, applications and web services from government systems and devices.
Running the open weights on Australian infrastructure, or using a cloud platform that hosts them in an Australian region, avoids sending data to DeepSeek. You should still evaluate model behaviour, bias, handling of sensitive topics and security before using these models in production.
Last reviewed October 2026
Strengths
- +Strong reasoning and coding performance in open-weight form
- +Permissive licence allows commercial use and self-hosting
- +Available in-region on Amazon Bedrock in Sydney
- +Supported by self-hosting tools and inference engines
Limitations
- –DeepSeek's own app and API process and store data in China
- –Australian Government systems are directed not to use DeepSeek products
- –Models may reflect content restrictions on politically sensitive topics
- –Microsoft Foundry offers DeepSeek only as Global Standard serverless deployments
Ways to access these models
DeepSeek app and API
DeepSeek's own services, which process and store data in China.
Amazon Bedrock
Recent DeepSeek models in-region in Sydney, fully managed by AWS.
Microsoft Foundry
DeepSeek models as Global Standard serverless deployments.
Self-hosted
Run the open weights, or smaller distilled variants, on Australian servers.
Keeping data in Australia
DeepSeek's own app and API are not suitable where data must stay in Australia, because its privacy policy says personal data is processed and stored in China. Onshore options use the open weights instead. Amazon Bedrock's model cards list recent DeepSeek models as available in-Region in Sydney (ap-southeast-2), so requests are processed by AWS in that region without reaching DeepSeek. Microsoft Foundry offers DeepSeek only through Global Standard deployments, which may be processed in any Azure region, and Google Cloud does not list its DeepSeek models for Australian processing. Self-hosting on Australian infrastructure gives the most control. Government agencies should check current Protective Security Policy Framework directions before any use, and businesses should confirm in-region status on the Bedrock model card.
For workloads where data must stay onshore end to end, see private AI hosted in Australia.
Best for
- →Reasoning and coding workloads using self-hosted or Bedrock-hosted weights
- →Research and evaluation of open-weight model capabilities
- →Cost-sensitive batch processing where an open model meets quality needs
Tools built on DeepSeek models
DeepSeek
Free plan + paidOpen Model
A family of large language models from Chinese AI lab DeepSeek, covering general chat and step-by-step reasoning. The model weights are published under the permissive MIT licence, so they can be downloaded and self-hosted, and DeepSeek also runs its own chat app and paid API.
Best for: Engineering teams able to self-host open models on their own GPUs
DeepSeek review →Ollama
Free plan + paidDev Tools
An open-source tool for downloading and running open-weight language models on a Mac, Windows or Linux machine, or on your own server. It provides a simple command line, a desktop app and a local API, plus optional paid cloud models for larger workloads.
Best for: Developers prototyping with open models on their own machines
Ollama review →LM Studio
FreeDev Tools
A desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux that lets you discover, download and chat with open-weight models offline. It includes document chat, a local server with OpenAI-compatible endpoints for developers, and support for MCP tools, all through a graphical interface.
Best for: Non-technical staff who want private AI on their laptop
LM Studio review →OpenRouter
Free plan + paidDev Infrastructure
A unified API that gives developers access to hundreds of AI models from many providers through one key and an OpenAI-compatible interface. It handles routing, fallbacks when a provider fails, usage tracking and consolidated billing, and lets teams filter providers by data policy, price or speed.
Best for: Developers comparing models before committing to a provider
OpenRouter review →
Frequently asked questions
Is DeepSeek banned in Australia?
Not for businesses or individuals. In February 2025 the Australian Government directed Commonwealth agencies to remove DeepSeek products, applications and web services from government systems and devices. Private organisations can make their own risk assessment, but should note that DeepSeek's own services store data in China.
Is DeepSeek on Amazon Bedrock different from the DeepSeek app?
Yes. On Bedrock, AWS runs the open DeepSeek weights on its own infrastructure, and Bedrock lists recent DeepSeek models as in-region in Sydney. Prompts are not sent to DeepSeek the company. The DeepSeek app and API, by contrast, are operated by DeepSeek and store data in China.
Can I run DeepSeek locally?
Yes. The full models need substantial GPU capacity, but smaller distilled variants run on workstations through tools such as Ollama and LM Studio. Local use keeps prompts on your own hardware, which suits sensitive testing and evaluation.
What risks should we assess before using DeepSeek models?
Consider where data flows, the model's handling of sensitive topics, susceptibility to prompt injection and unsafe outputs, and any sector or contractual restrictions on Chinese-origin technology. Using self-hosted or in-region Bedrock weights removes the data transfer concern but not the need to test outputs.
Other model providers
Building on DeepSeek models?
AI Lab Australia designs and builds AI systems on the right model and hosting route for your privacy and quality requirements.