The Minister for Cyber Security, the Hon Tony Burke MP, convened the Executive Cyber Council in Sydney to continue genuine and transparent co-leadership with industry leaders and senior Government officials on a range of key cybersecurity issues—including to drive progress on initiatives under the 2023–2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy.

Council members received a threat briefing from the Australian Government before discussing the evolving cyber threat landscape facing Australian businesses, government agencies, and the broader community.

The National Cyber Security Coordinator briefed members on national cyber incident management priorities, outlined the support available from the Commonwealth Government should they face a cyber incident of their own, and shared lessons on the importance of agile planning, preparedness, and response activation.

Members received updates from industry representatives leading working groups under the auspices of the Executive Cyber Council, with their efforts focusing on emerging technology, sovereign cyber capabilities, the cyber workforce, and small and medium businesses.

Members discussed the importance of developing a national cyber skills framework, industry alignment on priority cyber security roles and pathways, and developing diversity and inclusion by-design guidelines for Australia’s cybersecurity workforce to enable representation from across the Australian community to equip ourselves with the innovation, insights, and breadth of skills to meet future challenges.

The Council agreed to establish a collaborative and unified approach to elevating cybersecurity awareness and resilience among small and medium-sized businesses through an industry-led campaign during October 2024 Cyber Security Awareness Month.

The Council further agreed to support an industry action plan related to artificial intelligence and cybersecurity and to hold an industry-led showcase that will seek to profile existing and further develop emerging Australian cyber-sovereign capabilities.

Tackling Australia’s biggest cyber security threats requires government and industry to work together, leveraging our respective strengths to uplift cyber resilience across our nation and drive our vision as a world leader in cyber security by 2030.

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