This document summarises the high level purposes, goals and approaches the Australian BioCommons will pursue during its establishment phases. The content was developed through a process of national consultation and planning around an investment in bioinformatics research infrastructure in Australia and the text summarises the concepts and considerations motivating the investment, which has now been made. The strategy as set out aims to ensure Australian life science research remains globally competitive, by providing access to the digital tools, methods and training researchers require working in areas such as food security, environmental conservation and disease treatments. High level descriptions of the purpose and organisational structure of the Australian BioCommons, its motivating principles and the key challenges it will address, are included in the text. A focus is defined for the BioCommons service layers and the overall properties of a cloud infrastructure termed the ‘BioCloud’ supporting those services are described. The BioCommons has been initiated over the period 2019 to 2023 by funding from Bioplatforms Australia through the Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).