14 June 2017

WA Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement that it will invest almost $1 million to help Edith Cowan University train cyber security professionals to address the global skills shortage through the ECU Security Research Institute.

“The announcement is also a testament to ECU’s position as a leading international university in the field of cyber security and Western Australia’s capability in this space. I’m so proud to have advocated for this wonderful WA institution, which leads the world in cyber security education,” she said.

ECU and the University of Melbourne were chosen to lead the concerted effort to boost Australia’s cyber security capability through the country’s first Academic Centres of Cyber Security Excellence. The two universities will share $1.91 million over four years to help build the required expertise and job-ready skills needed by the industry and government.

Senator Reynolds said the centre at ECU would fill the immediate skills gap and would help meet the demand of future job growth.

“It’s been estimated there will be a global shortfall of more than 1.5 million cyber security professionals within three years, but almost 20 per cent of positions in the Australian sector will go unfilled due to a lack of trained professionals,” she said.

“This centre will encourage more students to take up undergraduate and postgraduate studies, as well as research in cyber security, while broadening the range of professionals capable of supporting a cyber-secure nation into the future.”

The centre is also expected to encourage the commercialisation of cyber security research, which will benefit WA’s small and medium sized industries. Investment in the ACCSEs complements the Federal Government’s 2016 Defence White Paper, which outlined that an additional $400 million is required over the next decade to boost Australia’s cyber and intelligence capabilities and create about 800 specialist jobs.

For more information about the Academic Centres of Cyber Security Excellence visit www.education.gov.au/accse. For more information about ECU’s Security Research Institute visit http://www.ecu.edu.au/schools/science/research-activity/ecu-security-research-institute/overview.

Media Contact: Amy Blom – 08 9477 5411 or amy.blom@aph.gov.au