CRC Communique 15 October 2026

The CRC received a presentation from Justin Bassi, Executive Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, on Australia’s strategic operating environment and its implications for risk management across government.

Mr Bassi highlighted the increasingly interconnected nature of geostrategic, economic, technological and social risks. Members discussed the importance of challenging assumptions, testing credible scenarios and considering dependencies that may appear efficient under normal conditions but create vulnerabilities during disruption or coercion.

The discussion also considered secondary impacts when developing policy and risk treatments, including implications for supply chains, resilience and national security. Social cohesion was discussed as an example of a whole-of-system risk, including the challenges presented by misinformation, disinformation and the changing information environment.

The CRC considered the proposed direction for the 2027–2031 Risk Management Benchmarking Program. The Committee endorsed retaining the existing five areas of focus and five-level maturity model while also shifting the emphasis from whether risk management arrangements exist to whether they are applied effectively and influence organisational decisions and the performance and strategic outcomes of an entity.

Members discussed the need for the program to remain proportionate across entities of different sizes, functions and levels of complexity.

Committee members supported an approach that requires entities to provide evidence that demonstrates how the consideration of risk has influenced decisions, behaviours, controls or outcomes. Case studies and practical examples were discussed as potential ways of demonstrating risk-informed decision-making and sharing better practice across the Commonwealth.

The Committee also supported exploring opportunities to reuse information already collected through existing Commonwealth assurance and reporting processes.

The Committee’s Terms of Reference require an annual review of its effectiveness, providing an opportunity to assess how well it is meeting its purpose and identify improvements to its operations. The Committee considered the approach to the 2026 evaluation which will consider whether the Committee is making a practical contribution to the management of risk as well as meeting its formal governance requirements. The outcomes of the evaluation will inform the Committee’s 2027 work program, governance arrangements and ongoing engagement with the COO Committee.

The CRC received an update on the work delegated from the COO Committee to the Commonwealth Risk Committee to identify common and shared risks related to the Middle-East conflict.

The overall risk position remains broadly stable, with no material changes identified across the current risks. Further consultation had been undertaken concerning staff wellbeing related directly or indirectly to community tensions, with no evidence of significant deterioration identified that would require additional whole-of-APS controls.

The APS remains at preparedness level 2, with precautionary planning continuing for agencies with dependencies on diesel. No major disruption to fuel supply had been identified.

The Secretariat will finalise the Shared Risk Register and provide a further update to the COO Committee. Work will also continue on adapting the Shared Risk Framework to support future whole-of-government shared risks.

The CRC received an update on the COO Committee’s strategic planning discussions. The COO Committee is considering a broader focus on whole-of-government issues, including shared risks, productivity, enterprise bargaining, ICT and artificial intelligence.

Members noted opportunities for continued engagement between the CRC and COO Committee on shared Commonwealth risks and other issues requiring coordination across entities.

Friday 27 November 2026.

CRC Secretariat
Department of Finance
Risk and Insurance Branch

1800 651 540 (Option 4)

Commonwealthriskcommittee@finance.gov.au