About RNSA

The Research Network for a Secure Australia (RNSA) is a multi-disciplinary collaboration established to strengthen Australia's research capacity to enhance the protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure from natural, human-caused, or accidental disasters, and terrorist acts.

The RNSA has received ARC funding to achieve its goals of establishing a research network primarily under the National Research Priority 4 – Safeguarding Australia: Priority Goal 1 – Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP); and including some elements from other national priority areas such as frontier technologies, advanced materials, smart information use, transformational defence technologies, and protecting Australia from terrorism and crime.

The RNSA seeks to bring together the majority of Australia’s leading researchers, government and industry leaders involved in CIP.

The RNSA will facilitate a knowledge-sharing network for research organisations, government and the private sector to develop research tools and methods to mitigate emerging safety and security issues relating to critical infrastructure. The network will integrate complementary, yet diverse research areas including physical and information infrastructure security, and surveillance and intelligent systems.

The Australian government has identified the need to secure critical infrastructure against potential natural or human-caused disasters including terrorism as a national priority. The RNSA is designed to meet this important government requirement through providing research coordination in the areas of critical infrastructure protection (CIP). The network receives strong support from key government organisations responsible for critical infrastructure protection and counter-terrorism such as the Critical Infrastructure Advisory Council (CIAC), the Attorney-General's Department, Trusted Information Sharing Network (TISN) for Critical Infrastructure Protection, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet – National Security Division (SET Unit) and Emergency Management Australia (EMA).