Home Affairs announces Horizon 2 of national cybersecurity strategy

The Department of Home Affairs has announced a new program of work to uplift Australia’s cyber maturity under Horizon 2 of the 2023–2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy.

Announced by the Minister for Cyber Security, Tony Burke, last Thursday, Horizon 2 details 19 actions and 64 initiatives for government to deliver by the end of 2028.

The Department says the Horizon 2 Action Plan sets out a program of meaningful, targeted measures to “improve the lives of everyday Australians”. The Plan will be delivered in partnership with industry, seeking to achieve three key objectives:

• Enable Australian workers to be its strongest defence.
• Continue to protect and uplift the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure and government systems.
• Support Australia’s uptake of new and emerging technologies in a secure way.
   

The actions and initiatives in the Horizon 2 Action Plan will be led or co-led by 12 different Australian Government agencies, supported by numerous contributing agencies.

The delivery of Horizon 2 requires continued co-design, collaboration and support from industry and community partners.

Further information about how Horizon 1 was delivered, including the Horizon 1 Action Plan and how this work informed the development of Horizon 2, is available at Horizon 1: Strengthening our foundations (2023–2025).

Three fact sheets have been published, with targeted information about Horizon 2 for members of the public, community groups, not‑for-profit organisations, businesses and industry:

• Horizon 2 factsheet: individuals, communities and not-for-profit organisations.
• Horizon 2 factsheet: small and medium businesses.
• Horizon 2 factsheet: industry and critical infrastructure.
   

Partnerships with industry, businesses and communities remain at the heart of the Strategy, as the challenges to be faced over the next Horizon cannot be met by government alone.

Horizon 2 has been developed through a wide-ranging consultation process involving over 170 public submissions, three public town halls and 12 co-design roundtables with key industry partners and stakeholders. To view the Horizon 2 Policy Discussion Paper and public submissions, see Consultation on developing Horizon 2 of the 2023–2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy.

A public town hall will be held to discuss delivery of the Horizon 2 Action Plan on Thursday, 2 July 2026. For details on how to register, click here.

Image credit: iStock.com/Thapana Onphalai