Cyber Security

IRAP Readiness Assessments

IRAP Readiness Assessments provide organisations with confidence that their systems, programs and projects are appropriately prepared for a formal IRAP assessment. They offer a clear, practical view of how well security controls align to Australian Government expectations, and where gaps or risks may impact approval timelines, delivery outcomes or regulatory confidence.

By identifying issues early and strengthening readiness before formal assessment begins, our readiness assessments help organisations reduce rework, avoid delays, and save time and cost during the IRAP assessment period.

What we do.

We deliver independent IRAP readiness assessments for government agencies and organisations operating cloud-based or on-premise systems that handle sensitive or regulated information. Our focus is on ensuring security controls are appropriately designed, implemented and evidenced to meet IRAP expectations — before engaging an IRAP accredited assessor.

Our approach is pragmatic and delivery-aware. We work closely with program teams, security leads and system owners to assess maturity, identify priority risks, and provide clear guidance on what needs to be addressed to achieve the strongest possible IRAP assessment outcome. This reduces uncertainty, minimises disruption to delivery teams, and helps control the time and cost associated with formal assessment activities.

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What is an IRAP readiness assessment?

In plain English, an IRAP readiness assessment is a pre-assessment confidence check that helps you understand how prepared your system is for a formal IRAP assessment.
It focuses on whether your security posture, governance arrangements, documentation and evidence are sufficiently mature to support a positive outcome when reviewed by an IRAP accredited assessor. By clarifying scope and expectations early, organisations can avoid last-minute remediation, reduce assessor queries, and shorten the overall assessment cycle, resulting in tangible time and cost savings.

How we deliver an iRAP readiness assessment.

We deliver IRAP readiness assessments in a structured, practical and collaborative way, aligned to real delivery timelines and system constraints. Our team reviews key artefacts, interviews stakeholders, and evaluates how security controls operate in practice — not just how they are documented.

We also apply recognised cloud security best practices, including the Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM), to ensure cloud architectures, shared responsibility models and control ownership are clearly defined and defensible. This positions systems for a smoother formal assessment and helps ensure assessor effort is focused on validation rather than clarification or rework.

Key focus areas of IRAP readiness assessments.

01

Evaluation

Assess current security posture against relevant Information Security Manual (ISM) requirements, using cloud security best practices such as the Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM) to validate control coverage, clarify shared responsibility models, and strengthen evidence quality across cloud-based environments.

02

Gap Analysis

Identify control gaps and areas of immaturity that could impact IRAP outcomes, and develop a prioritised, delivery-aware remediation roadmap to address risks early and avoid assessment delays or rework.

03

Formal Assessment

Prepare teams for engagement with an IRAP accredited assessor by confirming scope, maturity expectations and evidence requirements, reducing clarification cycles and unnecessary assessor effort.

04

Reporting & Accreditation

Deliver clear, decision-ready reporting that supports executive oversight and positions the IRAP assessment for the best possible outcome, including smoother approvals and shorter assessment timeframes.

05

Expert Advice

Provide practical guidance on ISM interpretation, cloud responsibilities and evidence expectations, ensuring controls are defensible, clearly articulated and assessor-ready.

Our IRAP readiness assessments difference..

We assess security controls in the context of real program and project delivery, ensuring cyber security supports timelines, dependencies and operational realities rather than operating as a standalone compliance exercise.

Our readiness assessments are shaped by a clear understanding of IRAP assessor expectations, helping teams align scope, evidence and maturity early to avoid delays, rework or adverse findings.

We strengthen cloud readiness by validating control coverage and shared responsibility using best-practice cloud frameworks such as the Cloud Controls Matrix, ensuring architectures and evidence are assessment-ready.

We deliver prioritised and realistic recommendations that teams can implement efficiently ahead of formal assessment without slowing delivery momentum.

By identifying issues early and clarifying expectations upfront, our approach reduces assessor queries, minimises remediation effort, and lowers time and cost during the formal IRAP assessment period.

We provide independent, objective assurance that supports confident executive decision-making while maintaining clear separation from formal IRAP assessment activities.

Best practice
compliance accreditations.

Learn more about our cyber security services.