A clearer picture of the coming Cyber Security Bill and critical infrastructure reforms
What you need to know
- In Australia, the Federal Government reportedly hopes to bring a new Cyber Security Bill to Parliament in the next sitting – which begins next week on 12 August 2024. The new bill will cover ransom reporting, new security standards for smart (IoT) devices, limits on how cyber agencies use information, and the creation of a Cyber Incident Review Board.
- At the same time, we expect to see a bill to change critical infrastructure laws, to regulate critical data storage systems, to introduce new consequence management and remedial powers, to simplify sharing of critical information, and to shift telecommunications sector obligations to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act.
- If bills are introduced, they will likely be referred for Senate Committee consideration, and public consultations will likely follow.
- The new laws will need to be flexible – expect significant issues to be dealt with in underlying rules, which may require further refinement and consultation.
- These bills are one part of a very ambitious technology and data law reform agenda. We expect to see in coming weeks, a parliamentary vote on Consumer Data Right "action initiation" laws, movement on misinformation and disinformation laws and mandatory anti-scams codes, as well as legislation to overhaul Australia's privacy laws.
Key regulatory forms – to be a world cyber security leader by 2030
These reforms are part of Australia's 2023-2030 Cyber Security Strategy vision to be a world leader in cyber security by 2030 – read about the strategy, and Ashurst's response to the earlier discussion paper.
