New guidelines to counter foreign interference in the Australian University sector have been released by the Department of Education in collaboration with universities and national security agencies.
Minister for Education, Dan Tehan said the guidelines were developed with the universities to ensure they had the policies, frameworks and strategies in place to protect against foreign interference while maintaining their autonomy.
“Working with universities and national security agencies, we have taken action to ensure universities understand the risks and know what steps to take to protect themselves,” Mr Tehan said.
Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton said foreign interference efforts against Australian interests was at an all-time high.
“Our security agencies are leading efforts across Government to respond to foreign interference and to protect our university sector,” Mr Dutton said.
“The Director-General of ASIO says foreign interference against Australia’s interests is at an unprecedented level that includes universities and the research sector,” he said.
Mr Tehan said the guidelines have been developed by the University Foreign Interference Taskforce which has set out five key themes: Governance and risk frameworks; Due diligence; Communication and education; Knowledge sharing; and Cyber security.
“I would like to thank the co-chairs for their leadership in developing the guidelines,” Mr Tehan said.
“I thank the universities for their collaborative approach. I’m confident the guidelines will help safeguard the higher education sector.”
RMIT Vice Chancellor, Martin Bean, one of the co-chairs, said he was delighted to see the shared commitment of universities and the Government to safeguard the security of Australia’s university sector without undermining the invaluable asset of its openness.
“The guidelines are a fantastic new resource for universities to add to their existing tools and to assist decision makers in continuing to assess the evolving risks from foreign interference,” Vice Chancellor Bean said.
The 44-page guidelines can be accessed at this PS News link.
