New legislation has been passed by the Parliament that will protect Australia’s critical infrastructure against cyber attacks and other serious security threats. 

Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews said the Security Legislative Amendment (Critical Infrastructure Protection) Bill will boost the security and resilience of Australia’s critical infrastructure to safeguard essential services from physical, supply chain, cyber and personnel threats. 

“These reforms are a key action item under Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020 and are part of the Australian Government’s work to strengthen our management and response to security risks across critical infrastructure sectors,” Minister Andrews said. 

“The Bill builds on the Australian Government’s strong support for our national security agencies announced in Tuesday’s Federal Budget, to make Australia stronger and keep Australians safe in an increasingly uncertain world.” 

Under the new bill, $9.9 billion will be invested to boost cyber and intelligence capability with an extra $280 million to boost law enforcement capability. 

Australia’s critical infrastructure sectors have been regularly targeted by malicious cyber actors seeking to exploit victims for profit throughout the pandemic. Due to this, the risk of cyberattacks has only increased on Australian networks. 

Following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, it’s clear that there is a heightened cyber threat environment globally. 

“This legislation completes a reform package that gives all Australians assurance that our essential services are resilient and protected,” Minister Andrews said. 

The reforms passed today include: 

• Risk Management Program requires critical infrastructure owners and operators to manage the risk of hazards that affect the delivery of essential services; designed with industry and building on existing regulatory frameworks, where possible. 
• The ability to declare Systems of National Significance – the most interconnected and interdependent of our critical infrastructure assets. 
• Enhanced Cyber Security Obligations for owners and operators of assets most critical to the nation (the systems of national significance) – centred around a strengthened relationship with the government. 
• Improved information sharing provisions to make it easier for regulated entities and governments to share information as needed to comply with their obligations. 

The Bill follows an extensive public consultation, ongoing engagement with critical infrastructure providers and examination by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS). 

This follows the introduction of important amendments by the Australian Government last year and the passage of these amendments in November 2021. 

These reforms build on the government’s actions to spearhead several significant cybersecurity improvements that will directly benefit all Australians. 

Source: Minister for Home Affairs Media Release

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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