Case studies

Online safety awareness program to nurture safe and respectful digital citizens

Introduced the Cybermarvel program, a joint initiative of the NSW, VIC, TAS, ACT, SA and NT education departments, which aims to build staff and students’ cyber safety awareness and skills, inform parents and carers how to keep their family safe online, and encourage safe and positive online behaviours and experiences.

An app for emergency warnings and advice for floods, tsunamis and fires in NSW

The Hazards Near Me app shows current information about local emergencies, including flood, bushfires and tsunamis, and advice on what to do to stay safe. The app can send push notifications when there are new incidents or when information changes. The NSW Flood Inquiry identified the need for a consolidated approach and single app for hazard warnings.

An annual event to raise awareness of privacy issues

Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) is a campaign that highlights the importance of privacy issues and raises awareness for public sector agencies on how to protect the personal information of our citizens. Each year, the Information and Privacy Commission hosts a NSW campaign for NSW citizens and public sector agencies to raise awareness of privacy rights and obligations.

PAW encourages agencies to build strong privacy foundations and supports citizens to better understand and exercise their privacy rights.

Innovative technology protecting communities

New artificial intelligence (AI) technology is being developed as part of the Flood and Storm Intelligence Sensing project, which is part of the NSW Government’s efforts to protect communities during severe weather events. The project is funded through Transport for NSW’s Smart Places Acceleration Program, which has been funded by the Digital Restart Fund.

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has partnered with researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and TPG Telecom to develop and test network sensing technology, which extracts localised weather information including rainfall, water levels and river flows using signals transmitted on the communications network.

The Network Sensing Lab will develop and trial solutions that can be readily deployed in commercial networks. These build on cutting-edge algorithms and techniques developed by UTS researchers to monitor and predict flooding by leveraging existing wireless networks.

In September, the inaugural Cyber Security NSW Summit provided professional development for NSW Government's cyber workforce. Topics included AI, executive communication, incident management, awareness training, and case studies, reflecting cyber threats as a business-wide risk. Minister Jihad Dib announced sponsorship for staff to complete TAFE NSW’s ACSC Essential Eight Assessment Course.

This policy sets clear standards and guidelines for agencies to manage evolving cyber risks effectively.  The NSW Cyber Security Policy incorporates recommendations from the Audit Office of NSW and an independent review commissioned by Cyber Security NSW, following extensive consultation with government agencies to ensure its effectiveness and relevance.

The NSW Cyber Security Policy mandates that all government agencies manage cyber security risks and report annually to Cyber Security NSW by 31 October, either through their portfolio CISO or directly.

Future proofing DPIRD’s emergency response capability

The project was funded through the DRF and enabled the development of a customer facing digital solution able to share and receive digital emergency information with rural and regional communities.

The BioResponse NSW App helps everyone understand, prevent and manage NSW biosecurity threats.