AAF’s Top Five Trust and Identity Themes for Australia’s Higher Education and Research – Survey Open

AAF's Top Five Trust and Identity Themes for Australia's Higher Education and Research Sector outlines the most critical priorities shaping this domain for sector leaders.

This discussion paper captures key insights from the 2025 Advancing Trust and Identity in Higher Education and Research Roundtable, held alongside the CAUDIT Spring Meeting and AHECS Cybersecurity Summit. The session brought together senior leaders from across universities and national research infrastructure organisations, spanning information technology and cybersecurity.

The Top Five is designed to stimulate ongoing sector-wide conversation while identifying the defining characteristics of future-ready trust and identity. The five themes are:

• Theme 1 — Beyond campus identity
• Theme 2 — Lifelong identity
• Theme 3 — Future-ready trust models
• Theme 4 — T&I in an AI world
• Theme 5 — Cybersecurity

The role of trust and identity has never been more critical, as the sector responds to rapid technological change and an increasingly complex global environment. These themes highlight the need for a more connected model — one that extends trusted access beyond institutional boundaries, supports seamless collaboration with industry, and addresses the growing complexity of digital identities, including the rise of AI. They also underscore the importance of strengthening protections around the sector's valuable research assets in the face of evolving cyber threats.

This discussion paper has informed ongoing engagement through the 2026 national Roundtable series, with sessions already delivered in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide.