Protecting National Digital Infrastructure: How Governments Can Coordinate Cyber Policy, Assurance and System Resilience

Australian governments are facing a convergence of pressures that are reshaping cyber risk. Threat actors are becoming more sophisticated, geopolitical instability is increasing the likelihood of state-aligned attacks, and essential public services are more digitally dependent than ever before. At the same time, agencies are operating within complex policy and regulatory environments that demand demonstrable assurance over security, resilience and compliance.

In late February 2026, the National Industry Innovation Network, in partnership with Cisco and Splunk, released Securing the State: Strengthening Government Systems in an Age of Disruption. The paper provides a timely assessment of Australia’s cyber posture across federal, state and local government, government-owned entities, health, education and statutory bodies. It examines progress against mandated and recommended frameworks including the Essential Eight, Zero Trust principles and the Protective Security Policy Framework, highlighting where uplift has occurred and where gaps persist.

Critically, the paper also questions whether current approaches are sufficient in the face of emerging threats such as adversarial AI and quantum computing. For senior executives, this creates a clear obligation to move beyond compliance reporting towards confidence that systems are genuinely resilient. Without coordinated action, agencies risk service disruption, regulatory exposure, inefficient investment and erosion of public trust.

Key discussion points:

• Interrogate the findings of Securing the State: What the paper reveals about strengths, weaknesses and systemic gaps in Australia’s current cyber resilience.
• Test the effectiveness of existing frameworks: How well Essential Eight, Zero Trust and PSPF requirements are translating into real risk reduction across government.
• Evaluate preparedness for emerging threats: What adversarial AI and quantum computing mean for current security assumptions and controls.
• Prioritise risk-based cyber uplift: How leaders can use evidence to guide investment, capability development and assurance activity.
• Enable coordinated national resilience: Why collaboration across jurisdictions and sectors is essential to address shared threats and interdependencies.

Who should attend:

This webinar is designed for senior public sector leaders with accountability for cyber security, technology risk, data governance and digital resilience across Australian government and public sector institutions.