Funding for cyber experts to improve information sharing in the Health sector
Health Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Centre Acceleration Grants Program
Closing date: Thursday 25 July 2024 5:00pm AEST Thu 25 Jul 2024 5:00pm AEST
What do you get?
A grant of up to $6.423 million, to cover up to 100% of eligible expenditure.
Who is this for?
Health sector groups, cyber threat experts, existing ISACs or cyber professional membership organisations.
Overview
The Health Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (ISAC) Acceleration Grants Program will deliver a grant of up to $6.423 million over three years to establish an ISAC to support industry-to industry threat intelligence sharing in the health sector.
ISACs provide an intelligence-sharing platform where participants interact and share information regarding cyber threats on their gateways and networks.
The health sector and its supply hold highly sensitive and personal data about the health and wellbeing of Australians. As the health industry sector continues its digital transformation the sector must be able to respond to cyber threats as they arise.
The objectives of the program are to:
- establish a new ISAC, or upscale the operations of an existing ISAC, to facilitate ongoing industry-to-industry threat intelligence sharing within the health sector
- improve capabilities with participating member organisations both to prevent, through emphasising hardening and resilience, and respond to cyber threats
- establish an intelligence-sharing forum where participants interact and share information regarding cyber threats
- drive benefit from, and provide benefit to, the National Cyber Threat Picture by ensuring any technical, machine speed threat intelligence sharing is compatible with the national cyber threat intelligence platform, Australian Signals Directorate’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Sharing (ASD CTIS)
- establish and maintain relationships with existing threat intelligence sharing forums to enable sharing of meaningful threat intelligence to the healthcare ecosystem.
The intended outcomes of the program are:
- improved collaboration, information sharing, cyber threat capabilities and good cyber practices within the health sector
- alternative mechanisms for industry to share cyber threat intelligence between industry partners, sectors and government
- establishment of an ISAC that is self-sustaining at the conclusion of the grant funding period.
Check if you can apply
You can apply if you meet the eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria are a set of rules that describe who we can consider for this grant. You can apply if you:
- are an eligible entity
- have an eligible project
- have eligible expenditure.
The rules are in the grant opportunity guidelines.
You can apply if you:
- have an Australian business number (ABN)
- are registered for GST
- are located in Australia
- have an account with an Australian financial institution
- are an entity incorporated in Australia
- are one of the following entities:
- an existing ISAC
- a health sector group
- specialist in generating and disseminating cyber threat intelligence
- a membership organisation for cyber professionals
and:
- provide a holistic information security management plan to manage security risk and personnel specific to the project, i.e. vetting people, policies and technology, and/or be certified against cyber security standards (ISO/IEC 27001 or equivalent).
You can’t apply if you are:
- an organisation, or your project partner is an organisation, included on the National Redress Scheme’s list of Institutions that have not joined or signified their intent to join the Scheme
- an employer of 100 or more employees that has not complied with the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012)
- an individual
- an unincorporated association
- a trust (however, an incorporated trustee may apply on behalf of a trust)
- an international entity, although international entities may partner with an eligible entity to deliver the project
- an entity not listed in section 4.1 of the Guidelines.
Partner with other organisations
You can partner with one or more other organisations. You must decide who the lead organisation is. The lead organisation must meet the eligibility criteria.
The lead organisation must fill out the application form.
If we give your group the grant, the lead organisation:
- signs the grant agreement
- is responsible for making sure your group follows the rules in the grant agreement.
You must complete your project by 30 June 2027.
Your project must:
- establish a new ISAC, or upscale the operations of an existing ISAC, to facilitate industry-to-industry threat intelligence sharing within the health sector
- facilitate interoperability and threat intelligence sharing with existing government platforms, including ASD’s CTIS platform.
You can apply for a grant between 26 June and 23 July 2024.
You can use this grant funding for:
- labour expenditure
- labour on-costs and administrative overheads
- threat sharing platform, licencing, program development software and fees
- project management activities contract expenditure
- travel (up to 5 per cent of eligible expenditure)
- staff training that directly supports the achievement of project outcomes
- the cost of an independent audit.
How to apply
Check if you’re ready to apply for a grant
Finding a suitable grant opportunity is just the start of the process to get funding. The application process can take time and effort. Understanding the entire process will help you be grant ready and may improve your chances of getting funding.
Use our checklist to find out what it takes to apply for a grant.
When you're ready to apply
Apply using our online portal:
- Create or log into your portal account.
- Follow the instructions to complete your application.
- Submit your application before the close date.
Make sure you include enough detail and supporting evidence in your application to help us decide whether to award you the grant.
Don’t submit the application until it’s complete. You can’t correct a mistake.
First we check that you meet the eligibility criteria. Then we assess your application against the assessment criteria.
The assessment criteria are a set of rules that describe how we must assess each application.
We give each criterion a certain number of points.
We’ll decide whether to award you the grant based on the total number of points we give your application.
- Assessment criterion 1: Project alignment with policy intent (program objectives/outcomes) (35 points)
- Assessment criterion 2: Capacity, capability and resources to deliver the project (35 points)
- Assessment criterion 3: Broader national benefits (30 points)
The amount of detail and supporting evidence you provide should be relative to the project size, complexity and grant amount requested.
We refer all eligible applications to a panel that will assess applications and provide recommendations to the decision maker.
The First Assistant Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs makes the final decision.
Apply now
Apply for the Health Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (ISAC) Acceleration Grants Program now
Before you apply, make sure you:
- read and understand the grant opportunity guidelines
Sample applications
The best way to understand what information you need to provide is to start an application. We have also provided a version to download at the bottom of this page.
Technical help
See our customer portal's frequently asked questions to help with your queries. If you can't find your answer, contact us for assistance.
If you submit your application before the close date you can retrieve it any time to make changes. But you must submit it again before the close date.
We can’t consider the application you submit after the close date under any circumstances.
Contact
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