AAF’s Trust and Identity Roadmap for Australia’s National Research Infrastructure

The benefits of data access and use can only be realised if they are underpinned by trust that data is being handled safely and securely.

— Australian Productivity Commission (2025), Harnessing Data and Digital Technology – Interim Report

14 November 2025

At the AAF we're extending and strengthening the Trust and Identity (T&I) research ecosystem through policy, infrastructure, and expertise as a sovereign capability.

Through the Federation we're currently supporting over 90,000 researchers across 103+ organisations. As an integral part of the higher education and research sector, the AAF provides secure, seamless access to more than 680 national and international research services, enabling over 11 million authentications annually. This infrastructure saves researchers tens of thousands of hours, allowing them to focus on impactful research.

By extending T&I to national research Infrastructures we're addressing challenges that include evolving cyber threats, limited access for smaller institutions, and fragmented identity systems that risk isolating Australian researchers.

AAF's T&I Roadmap includes:

• Interconnected programs delivering scalable, reusable tools and policies
• Expanding trusted access beyond edu.au domains
• A safe and secure research environment, embedding cybersecurity best practices from the ground up
• Alignment with global frameworks like the EU AARC Blueprint Architecture
• Enhanced research impact tracking via persistent identifiers (PIDs)
• Support for FAIR and CARE principles
• Addressing critical T&I skills gaps

AAF's strategic partnerships with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), Pawsey, Microscopy Australia, National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), and the National Imaging Facility (to name a few) demonstrate scalable, secure T&I solutions for national research infrastructure.

The result? Easier access to national research infrastructure, better collaboration with industry and international partners, and a safer, more connected research ecosystem.

The AAF is building the T&I infrastructure that empowers Australian researchers to lead and collaborate globally.

This initiative is made possible through the support of the Australian Government via the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).