1. Purpose

Grain Trade Australia (GTA) is seeking Member comments on the draft Technical Guideline Document (TGD), Cyber Security in the Australian Grain Industry, developed through GTA’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC).

The draft Guideline provides practical guidance to help grain industry businesses identify and manage cyber security risks, strengthen business resilience and respond to incidents that may affect their operations or other participants in the grain supply chain.

2. Why do we need a Cyber Guideline?

The Australian grain supply chain increasingly relies on interconnected digital systems to support trading, grain receival, storage, handling, transport, processing and payments. Cyber incidents can disrupt these activities, compromise commercially sensitive information and operational data, and expose businesses and their counterparties to fraud, financial loss and contractual impacts.

These risks are particularly important during peak operating periods, when system outages or compromised information can have wider supply chain consequences.

ITAC has reviewed and refined the draft Guideline over several meetings, incorporating feedback from Committee members. At its meeting on 6 October 2026, ITAC supported circulating the current draft to GTA Members for broader consultation.

3. What the draft Guideline covers

The draft sets out a recommended industry baseline to be applied proportionately to a business’s size, complexity, operational requirements and risk exposure. It covers:

• Governance and accountability: identifying cyber risks and establishing clear responsibilities.
• Access and system security: multi-factor authentication, user access controls, security updates, endpoint protection, email filtering and phishing protection.
• Operational technology: protecting systems such as weighbridges, conveyors and automation equipment.
• Data and third-party risks: protecting business information, maintaining recoverable backups and managing service-provider access.
• Incident response and business continuity: preparing for, containing and recovering from cyber incidents, including communication with affected parties where required.
• Harvest readiness: considering cyber preparedness ahead of critical operating periods.

This Guideline document is a consultation draft. It provides general guidance and does not itself establish compliance with legislation, contractual obligations or referenced standards, or require certification to those standards.

4. Member consultation

GTA invites Members to review the draft TGD, Cyber Security in the Australian Grain Industry and provide feedback by COB Tuesday 1 December 2026.

Please send feedback to submissions@graintrade.org.au, with the subject line: TGD – Cyber Security.

5. Further information

For further information, contact GTA at admin@graintrade.org.au