About critical infrastructure protection and resilience
Critical energy infrastructure are those physical energy facilities, energy supply chains, information technologies and communication networks that, if destroyed, degraded or rendered unavailable for an extended period, would significantly impact on energy security and energy supply, as well as the overall social and economic well-being of the nation.
The responsibility for protecting critical infrastructure is shared between:
- critical infrastructure owners and operators
- Commonwealth government
- state and territory governments.
Domestic engagement
A key initiative in building the necessary business-government relationships is the Trusted Information Sharing Network for Critical Infrastructure Resilience (TISN), led by the Attorney-General’s Department.
The TISN provides an environment where business and government can share vital information on security issues relevant to the protection of our critical infrastructure and the continuity of essential services in the face of all hazards.
The TISN agenda is driven by critical infrastructure owners and operators from seven Sector Groups and is overseen by the Critical Infrastructure Advisory Council (CIAC).
The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET) is part of the TISN. It is responsible for providing strategic secretariat support to the Energy Sector Group (ESG), a business-government partnership which seeks to share information on hazards and vulnerabilities, and identify mitigation strategies to address them and to enhance the resilience of the electricity, gas and liquid fuels sectors.
It also shares information with other sector groups, such as banking and finance and communications on the interdependencies between these sectors and the energy sector.
International collaboration
In 2004, the International Electricity Infrastructure Assurance Forum (IEIAF) was established to promote international collaboration and mutual assistance on issues related to electricity infrastructure assurance amongst countries with common infrastructure assurance challenges.
The forum consists of government and electricity industry representatives from these five participating countries of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States.
Related links
More information
For more information about critical infrastructure protection and resilience email esg.secretariat@ret.gov.au.