Certification forces departments to use Australian data centres. By David Braue on Jun 15 2021 10:48 AM Print article
Australian government data to remain onshore. Photo: Shutterstock
Government agencies must only store sensitive information in data centres certified under the new Hosting Certification Framework (HCF), with the first providers now accredited in a scheme designed to marginalise China-owned data centre operators.
Australian Data Centres (ADC), Canberra Data Centres (CDC), and Macquarie Telecom (Canberra Campus) are now the only three companies allowed to host Australian government data, after they were certified under the HCF released in March by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA).
The move is the latest step in a Whole of Government Hosting Strategy that has amongst its key pillars the goal of protecting Australian government data with “robust, risk-based assessments to ensure data sovereignty and supply chain integrity”.