“Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people’s money.” Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, 1976 Prologue Australian media reported on 2 October 2026 that the Albanese Labor Government’s Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, was quoted as saying “Australian superannuation funds have an obligation to the national interest, to
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What Boards and senior executives should prioritise ahead of the 10 June 2027 and 10 June 2028 implementation milestones On 10 June 2026, the Security of Critical Infrastructure Legislation Amendment (Enhanced Critical Infrastructure Risk Management Program) Rules 2026 (the Enhanced CIRMP Rules 2026) commenced, introducing a significant uplift in the security requirements applying to affected responsible entities. The Enhanced CIRMP Rules 2026 amend the Security of Critical Infrastructure
Prologue Academia has been a pillar of modern Australia, making substantial contributions to Australia’s economy, society, international relations, and national security. But academia, as it exists in Australia in 2026, has changed significantly compared to its historical importance and norms. Also, the geopolitical environment in which Australia’s academia operates in 2026 has changed, becoming significantly
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Think about the security risks that come most readily to mind. A major cyberattack in the news. A security incident your organisation spent months recovering from. A dramatic foreign interference case study presented at a conference. Now consider a harder question: Are these the most material security risks facing your enterprise or simply the risks that
The Australian Workforce Paradox Australia’s workforce presents an interesting paradox. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026, only 21% of Australian employees are ‘engaged’ with their work, while 65% are not engaged and 14% are actively disengaged. At the same time, 50% report experiencing stress during much of the previous day, ten percentage points above
On 10 June 2026, the Security of Critical Infrastructure Legislation Amendment (Enhanced Critical Infrastructure Risk Management Program) Rules 2026 (Enhanced CIRMP Rules 2026) commenced, introducing a significant uplift in the way affected responsible entities must understand and manage supply chain risk. The Enhanced CIRMP Rules 2026 amend the Security of Critical Infrastructure (Critical Infrastructure Risk Management Program) Rules 2023 (CIRMP Rules 2023) made under the Security of Critical
In my recent article titled In the National Interest: Australian Citizenship in Disarray, published on the Pentagram Advisory website, I concluded by saying that Australia is fragile. I observed that Australia as a nation-state, as a society, and as an economy is very vulnerable to geopolitical and domestic threats. I believe that Australia is more
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In July 2026, Australian media reported multiple instances of insider threat behaviour. From our observations, reports of insider threat incidents in Australia appear to be increasing. The reason Pentagram Advisory is pointing these reports out is to highlight that insider threat is a reality across almost all facets of human activity. It is a daily
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Many responsible entities have now completed their initial review of the Security of Critical Infrastructure Legislation Amendment (Enhanced Critical Infrastructure Risk Management Program) Rules 2026 (Enhanced CIRMP Rules 2026) and are beginning to consider what the additional legislative obligations mean for their organisations. Understanding the new requirements is an important first step. For Boards and senior executives, however, the
The criminal charges against former Australian Defence Force soldier Kira Korolev have been upgraded from “preparing for an espionage offence” to “conspiracy to commit espionage”. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) announced the upgraded charge on 30 June 2026. The charge was decided by the Brisbane Magistrates Court on 29 June 2026. The new charge also
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