Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

Cyber Security Policy and Coordination Branch

The Cyber Security Policy and Coordination Branch is responsible for carriage of cyber security policy across the Australian Government.

The Branch works with a range of agencies to address cyber security issues in government, the private sector and the Australian community.

The Branch’s cyber security responsibilities relate to whole of government leadership and coordination of cyber security policy and, in particular, working with the owners and operators of systems of national interest, including critical infrastructure to address cyber security issues impacting upon them. This also includes the work of the Australian national  computer emergency readiness team (CERT Australia), which commenced operations in January 2010.

The Branch is comprised of: 


CERT Australia

CERT Australia is the national coordination point within the Australian Government for the provision of cyber security information for the Australian community.

CERT Australia assists the owners and operators of critical infrastructure and systems of national interest. CERT Australia is also Australia’s official point of contact in the global community of computer emergency response teams (CERTs) to support international collaboration in regards to cyber security issues.

CERT Australia complements the work of the Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC).

For more information visit CERT Australia’s webpage.

Cyber Security Policy Section

The Cyber Security Policy Section is responsible for whole of government policy coordination and leadership on cyber security policy, including:

  • monitoring the implementation of government policy decisions, including the recommendations of the E-Security Review 2008 , and
  • developing whole of government cyber security incident preparation, preparedness, response and recovery arrangements.

The Section provides the secretariat for the Cyber Security Policy and Coordination (CSPC) Committee which is the inter-departmental committee that coordinates the development of cyber security policy for the Australian Government, including in relation to:

  • determining priorities for the Australian Government
  • coordinating the response to cyber security incidents, and
  • the coordination of Australian Government cyber security policy internationally.

Cyber Security Strategic Projects

The Cyber Security Strategic Projects Section works with the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and other stakeholders to coordinate cyber security, critical information infrastructure protection and related initiatives including:

  • ensuring that national security considerations are taken into account in the rollout of the National Broadband Network and other related infrastructure projects
  • coordination of public education and awareness raising activities across portfolios, and
  • providing advice on cyber security aspects of whole-of-government information and communications technology policies.