The government releases the promised guidelines for universities to detect and deter foreign interference

Education Minister Dan Tehan announced a group of officials, vice chancellors and HE lobby to create the advice (CMM September 4).

They establish issues to address and actions to take, for universities, and presumably research institutes, facing international opportunities that may be threats; managing contact and communication, collaborations with researchers and organisations offshore, dealing with IP and cyber security.

The guidelines explicitly state that they do not “impose additional compliance or regulatory burden. Universities may determine how best practice considerations may be applied and incorporated given their operations and proportionality of risk.” Good-o but they are comprehensive to the point that any institution which finds itself cyber-comprised or loses control of research will have a job to do in explaining how it happened.