Trust
We protect identities, strengthen cybersecurity, secure access and uphold the confidence our community places in us.
Connecting people though trust
Protecting and connecting Australia's higher education and research
Education and research relies on seamless and secure access.
Our role is to make that happen. Every day, our systems allow researchers, students and educators to reach everything they need – data, instruments, collaboration platforms, scholarly databases – without a maze of passwords and permissions.
We’re the Australian Access Federation: the people and technology working behind the scenes. And like most good infrastructure, our work is often invisible, even to the people who use it everyday.
Protecting What Matters.
In the digital world, simple access and security must go hand in hand.
AAF strengthens cybersecurity by providing trusted approaches to identity and access management that reduce risk while maintaining a seamless user experience.
We help organisations protect their people, systems and data while enabling the collaboration that modern education and research depend upon.
Established in 2009, AAF is Australia’s national identity Federation – and part of a global network of federations connecting research and education communities around the world.
AAF is a not-for-profit, run for and by the same universities, research agencies and institutions that rely on it. We’re recognised as Australia’s Trust and Identity Capability and backed by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
We also lead the Australian ORCID Consortium, a community giving Australian researchers a trusted digital identifier of their own.
Secure logins every year People connected National and International Services connected % Network availability
One login. One Federation. Millions of individuals.
One AAF login connects around 1.5 million people to services across Australia and around the world. From CSIRO to CERN, from library databases to national research infrastructure.
Behind every login is something bigger
A researcher chasing a medical breakthrough. A student finding the resources they need to learn. A team collaborating across borders on their next discovery.
AAF proudly supports each of these individuals.
We’ve built a connected ecosystem where our members turn knowledge into real-world impact – strengthening communities and tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
As cyber threats continue to evolve, secure and trusted access plays a critical role in safeguarding research, institutional systems, personal information and valuable knowledge assets.
Our purpose is simple: To help the education and research community connect, collaborate and succeed without barriers.
National Sovereign Trust and Identity Capability for Research
As the national sovereign Trust and Identity Capability funded by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), we’re connecting researchers, government, industry and communities to Australia’s $5.5B investment in national research infrastructure.
We’re building the trusted digital access between organisations and services, enabling collaboration at scale, protecting valuable research assets, and helping Australia’s research ecosystem realise its full potential.
Ideas to impact
Discover how the AAF creates a connected and protected higher education and research sector that benefits Australia.
What Guides Us
From universities and research institutions to government agencies and industry organisations, AAF helps bring together the people and expertise needed to solve complex challenges and translate knowledge into real-world outcomes.
Collaboration
We create the conditions that make collaboration possible.
Service
Our community is at the centre of every decision we make.
Innovation
We embrace opportunities that help our community work more effectively, securely and at greater scale.
Built for the whole sector
Our infrastructure has been built to benefit the whole research and education community. Wherever you sit in the sector and whatever your role, AAF is working behind the scenes for you. Find your area below and see what that looks like in practice.
Higher Education
For Higher EducationUniversities, staff and students – connected and protected.
Research Infrastructures
For Research InfrastructuresSecure collaboration across institutions and borders.
Government
For GovernmentTrusted access for nationally significant work.
Students & Researchers
For Students & ResearchersOne login. Everything you need to learn and discover.
Industry
For IndustryA trusted partner in research collaboration.
Service Providers
For Service ProvidersReach the research and education sector, securely.
Secure digital access is becoming more important than ever.
As education becomes increasingly digital and research becomes more data-intensive, distributed and global - secure access is extremely important.
As cyber threats continue to evolve, AAF will continue to focus on strengthening both collaboration and cybersecurity, helping organisations protect what matters while enabling the open exchange of knowledge that drives learning, research and innovation.
Our vision is a future where access is never a barrier to learning, discovery or collaboration.
