On Tuesday, the government vowed to provide $130.1 million over four years from 2022‑23 to continue implementation of the Digital Economy Strategy and drive digital transformation, including $12.6 million per year ongoing from 2025‑26 to implement its response to the Inquiry into the Future Directions for the Consumer Data Right.
ACS has backed the announcement, however it has continued to call on all political parties to recognise the importance of the IT sector in regard to national security.
“ACS is extremely pleased to see the federal government has recognised cyber security as a key area in Australia’s defence posture,” ACS president Dr Nick Tate said.
“Protecting Australia’s digital infrastructure is essential to guaranteeing the nation’s security and keeping our industries and society running, so we welcome the cyber security investment.
“We would flag, however, that Australia needs a skilled workforce to maintain a robust cyber security sector and meet the demands of an increasingly digital economy and society.”
It comes after ACS released its own billion-dollar plan to boost the local tech sector last month, which included calls for spending on technology education and training.
ACS will host a debate in Canberra next month to debate the biggest priorities for Australia’s digital workforce in the coming years.
“Our election platform released last month proposed a range of education and training measures to grow our digital workforce and we look forward to exploring these in coming weeks,” Dr Tate said.
Read all about Tuesday’s pre-election budget announcement here.
Neil Griffiths
Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.
Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.
