The Australian Public Service is embarking on a significant modernization effort, introducing a comprehensive whole-of-government cloud computing policy designed to steer agencies away from aging and inflexible ICT environments. The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) has established this new framework to champion a move towards platforms that deliver superior resilience, scalability, and security for the essential services Australians rely on daily. This strategic directive applies across all cloud adoption models, including public, private, and hybrid infrastructures, and is intended to guide every stage of the cloud journey. From initial procurement and complex data migrations to the ongoing management of cloud-based solutions and eventual transitions away from a specific product, the policy provides a unifying set of principles. The overarching goal is to foster a consistent, secure, and interoperable cloud ecosystem across government, ensuring that future technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence, can be supported by a capable and modern digital foundation.
1. Establishing Strategic and Secure Foundations
A central pillar of the new government-wide policy is the mandate for agencies to design their cloud computing solutions with interoperability and portability at the forefront, a direct strategy to mitigate the pervasive issue of vendor lock-in. This requirement compels agencies to proactively negotiate contract terms, specifically targeting the removal of any clauses that could restrict the future migration of government data or operational workloads to alternative platforms. By ensuring that systems can communicate seamlessly and that data can be moved without prohibitive technical or financial barriers, the government aims to maintain long-term flexibility and control over its digital assets. To aid in this process, agencies are strongly encouraged to leverage pre-approved model clauses available through procurement hubs like BuyICT. These standardized clauses, which cover critical areas such as AI integration and cyber risk, provide a legal and technical baseline that strengthens the government’s negotiating position and promotes a consistent approach to risk management across all cloud-related procurements, ultimately fostering a more competitive and agile technology landscape for the public sector.
In parallel with promoting interoperability, the policy places a significant emphasis on ensuring that all cloud adoption practices are inherently secure from the ground up. Adherence to the Department of Home Affairs’ stringent policy requirements, as outlined in the Protective Security Policy Framework, is not optional but a core component of the directive. This alignment ensures that as agencies transition to the cloud, they are implementing robust security controls that protect sensitive government and citizen data against an evolving threat landscape. The framework addresses everything from data classification and sovereignty to access controls and continuous monitoring, providing a comprehensive security posture that must be integrated into every cloud solution. This unified security approach is critical for maintaining public trust and ensuring the integrity of government operations. The policy applies to all non-corporate Commonwealth entities, creating a consistent security baseline, while corporate Commonwealth entities are also strongly encouraged to adopt these principles to contribute to a coordinated and resilient digital government infrastructure.
2. Implementing Financial Governance and Efficiency
To ensure the long-term viability of cloud investments, the DTA’s policy champions the implementation of robust financial operations, or FinOps, practices to maximize cost efficiency and the overall value derived from cloud services. This strategic focus is designed to guarantee that the operation of these critical services remains financially sustainable over their entire lifecycle. Agencies are now required to conduct thorough financial analysis at the outset of any cloud initiative, meticulously identifying all costs associated with transition, migration, and ongoing operations. This includes a clear delineation of capital expenditure and operating expenditure funding implications, providing a complete financial picture to inform decision-making. Furthermore, the policy mandates the development and tracking of organization-specific unit economics. This granular approach to metrics allows for the precise monitoring and optimization of cloud usage and spending, enabling agencies to assess cost-effectiveness in real time and make data-driven adjustments to their consumption patterns, preventing budget overruns and ensuring that public funds are utilized judiciously.
The framework also introduces measures to enhance transparency and enable cross-governmental benchmarking of cloud expenditures. Agencies must now systematically capture and report cost and usage data, which will allow the DTA to measure and compare spending patterns across the entire Australian Public Service. This centralized data collection is a crucial step towards identifying best practices, negotiating better whole-of-government pricing, and understanding the true total cost of ownership for various cloud services. To facilitate this, the policy advocates for the adoption of standardized cost modeling taxonomies, such as the Technology Business Management framework, to organize and categorize cloud spending, resources, and services in a consistent manner. Additionally, agencies are directed to utilize established procurement panels like the Cloud Marketplace and consider relevant Single Seller Arrangements wherever possible. This structured approach to procurement and financial reporting not only streamlines the acquisition process but also provides the necessary oversight to ensure that cloud investments deliver tangible value and support the government’s broader digital transformation objectives.
A New Era of Coordinated Cloud Strategy
The implementation of the DTA’s unified cloud policy marked a pivotal shift in how the Australian government approached its digital infrastructure. By establishing clear, consistent requirements, the policy empowered agencies to make more confident and strategic decisions regarding their cloud adoption journeys. This ultimately lifted the security posture, operational performance, and long-term sustainability of the systems that underpin essential public services. The framework’s focus on interoperability and financial governance dismantled long-standing barriers, such as vendor lock-in and unpredictable spending, which had previously hindered innovation. As DTA Deputy CEO Lucy Poole had stated, the new standards were designed to create a more resilient and cohesive digital government. The policy’s successful application across non-corporate Commonwealth entities, with encouragement for corporate entities to follow suit, initiated a coordinated and sustainable path forward for managing complex cloud environments across the public sector.
