Australia Information Security Manual (ISM) — June 2024

The ISM is used to guide government agencies and associated contractors in implementing effective security controls to protect classified and sensitive Australian government information. It sets out a control-based approach to managing cybersecurity risks, safeguarding data, and ensuring the resilience of government-operated information systems. The ISM supports organizations in fulfilling regulatory and policy obligations for information security.

Yes, compliance with the ISM is mandatory for all Australian federal government departments and agencies. It is also a common requirement for third-party contractors and service providers who handle government information. State and territory agencies often reference or adopt ISM controls to align with federal security expectations.

The ISM applies to any organization processing, storing, or transmitting Australian government information, including federal departments, state bodies, and third-party contractors. It covers all information systems and environments that interact with government data, regardless of whether they are on-premises or cloud-based.

The ISM requires organizations to establish and document security policies, risk assessment reports, control implementation records, and incident response plans. Key artifacts include a security risk management plan, system security plan, asset inventory, and evidence of compliance with control requirements. These artifacts support auditability and effective governance.

Implementation involves conducting risk and gap assessments, mapping ISM controls to organizational assets and business processes, and configuring technical and procedural safeguards. Organizations must maintain documentation to demonstrate how each control is addressed and regularly review and improve the effectiveness of implemented measures.

The ISM aligns with international standards such as ISO 27001 and NIST SP 800-53, and can be mapped alongside them to enhance compliance and governance. Many organizations integrate ISM with other frameworks to streamline control selection, coordinate audit readiness, and meet overlapping requirements for national security and privacy.

The ISM requires continual risk management, regular testing and review of controls, periodic reassessment of system vulnerabilities, and timely remediation of identified weaknesses. Compliance is monitored through internal audits, external assessments, and mandatory reporting to oversight bodies such as the Australian Signals Directorate.

SmartSuite facilitates ISM compliance by enabling organizations to import and manage the ISM control library, link controls to a centralized risk register and asset inventory, and track policy governance. It supports collection of evidence, ongoing compliance monitoring, workflow-driven remediation, audit preparation, and dashboard reporting to visualize control status and track remediation progress.