Protective Security

What is protective security?

In the modern threat environment, it is essential that organisations implement systems to protect their people, information and assets from compromise or harm. Protective security comprises the policies, procedures and practices that seek to achieve this.

Protective security is designed to protect against a broad range of external and internal threats including compromise of information, unlawful access to premises, compromise of systems or employees and physical protection measures.

Protective security practices are commonly implemented across the four domains of governance, information, personnel, and physical security.

The South Australian Protective Security Framework (SAPSF) and the South Australian Cyber Security Framework (SACSF) have been adopted as the protective security policy requirements for the Government of South Australia effective 1 July 2020. The SAPSF consists of 13 policies across the four protective security domains.

The SAPSF was developed under Premier and Cabinet Circular 030 (PC030) (PDF, 586.8 KB) to provide all government agencies with the policy requirements and guidance to implement and maintain effective protective security processes and procedures that identify and manage risk, promote continuous improvement to security capability and maturity, and that foster a positive security culture throughout the South Australian public sector.

The SAPSF is a risk-based framework designed to empower agencies to identify and manage the most significant risks to South Australian Government business.

The requirements of the SAPSF have been developed to integrate with existing practices at a state, jurisdictional and Commonwealth level, including with the Commonwealth Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF).

The SAPSF consists of 13 policies across the four protective security domains. Each of the policies consists of one core (mandatory) requirement and a varying number of supporting requirements and is accompanied by guidance to assist agencies to implement the core and supporting requirements. The guidance draws upon both national and international standards for protective security, while incorporating relevant legislation, policy and risk-profiles from across South Australia.

A full overview and executive guide of the SAPSF can be found here:

The policies and guidance can be accessed through the tiles above.

The additional resources page provides resource and templates to assist with applying the SAPSF