WITNESSES BEUTEL, Brigadier Noel, Director-General, Capital Facilities and Infrastructure, Department of Defence ........................................................................................................................................ 1 COLLINS, Mr Chris, General Manager, RPS Project Management ................................................................. 1 MAPLETOFT, Mr Jim, Director, Facilities and Data Centre Services, Department of Defence .................... 1 REES, Mr Alun, Project Director, Australian Cyber Security Centre 2.0, Department of Defence ................ 1 SCOTTON, Mr Michael, Assistant Secretary, Cyber Security, Department of Defence .................................. 1
Friday, 10 February 2017 JOINT Page 1 BEUTEL, Brigadier Noel, Director-General, Capital Facilities and Infrastructure, Department of Defence COLLINS, Mr Chris, General Manager, RPS Project Management MAPLETOFT, Mr Jim, Director, Facilities and Data Centre Services, Department of Defence REES, Mr Alun, Project Director, Australian Cyber Security Centre 2.0, Department of Defence SCOTTON, Mr Michael, Assistant Secretary, Cyber Security, Department of Defence <strong>Committee</strong> met at 13:32 ACTING CHAIR (Senator Smith): I declare open this public hearing of the Parliamentary Standing <strong>Committee</strong> on Public Works into the proposed relocation and fitout of the Australian Cyber Security Centre. I welcome representatives of the Department of Defence. Although the committee does not require you to give evidence under oath, I should advise you that these hearings are formal proceedings of the parliament. Consequently, they warrant the same respect as proceedings of the parliament itself. Giving false or misleading evidence is a serious matter and may be regarded as contempt of parliament. Do you have any comments to make on the capacity in which you appear? Brig. Beutel: I am the Defence lead witness for today's hearings. ACTING CHAIR: Brigadier, would you care to make some brief introductory remarks before we proceed to questions? Brig. Beutel: Yes. This proposal seeks parliamentary approval for the fitout and relocation of the Australian Cyber Security Centre to commercially leased facilities at Brindabella Park, Canberra, following the relocation of the centre from its current location in the Department-of-Finance-managed Ben Chifley Building. The Australian Cyber Security Centre is an important Australian government initiative to ensure that Australian networks are amongst the hardest in the world to compromise. The centre brings together the elements of a number of existing cybersecurity capabilities from Defence, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Federal Police, the Computer Emergency Response Team and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. These organisations are being brought together in order to enable a morecomplete understanding of sophisticated cyberthreats, as have been described in the Australian Cyber Security Centre 2016 threat report, to facilitate faster and more-effective responses to significant cyberincidents and to foster better interaction. The centre is also a hub for greater collaboration and information sharing with the private sector, state and territory governments, academia and international partners to combat the full range of cyberthreats. Critically, the centre plays a vital role in the operationalisation of Australia's cybersecurity strategy, and is one of 13 priority actions identified in the strategy. The office of the Prime Minister has endorsed the relocation of the centre from its current location at the Ben Chifley Building to fit-for-purpose facilities that better address the key functional requirements for expansion, flexibility and collaboration. As such, the objectives of this proposal are to provide office accommodation facilities to accommodate up to 700 personnel; to provide appropriate security zoning to accommodate staff at various security clearances; and to provide an environment to support partnerships with industry, academia and other innovation initiatives. The total government-approved budget for this proposal is $38.8 million, which includes both development and estimated delivery costs. Subject to parliamentary approval, works are planned to commence in late March 2017 to achieve an initial operating capability at Brindabella Park by June 2017, with the completion of all works and the achievement of a final operating capability at Brindabella Park no later than December 2017. That concludes Defence's opening statement. The Defence witnesses stand ready for any questions. Senator GALLACHER: Given that you have only been in your current facilities for two years, and there was obviously public expense to move into those facilities, can you put onto the public record the need to move and whether there is any loss to the Commonwealth from vacating your current premises? Brig. Beutel: I will provide some high-level comments and then maybe Mr Scotton can provide some further detail. When the decision was taken to establish the Australian Cyber Security Centre and to locate it in the then newly completed Ben Chifley Building, the Cyber Security Centre at that stage was based on approximately 300 people, and the space made available for the Cyber Security Centre in the Ben Chifley Building at that time was based on 300 people. Since that time, with the release of the Cyber Security Strategy and also other growth initiatives within the Defence White Paper 2016, the Australian Cyber Security Centre will grow to approximately 700 personnel over the next few years. That growth requirement is the key driver for why a larger premises is required. PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE
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