Looking Back on Australian Security Clearances in 2025

If 2025 had a theme for protective security in Australia, it was this: standardise the top end, modernise the policy baseline, and treat technology risk like it's no longer "tomorrow's problem." (Because it isn't.)

From AGSVA performance transparency, to the PSPF's 2025 annual release, to the big headline change at the very top of the clearance stack, the year nudged the whole ecosystem—Defence, industry, and individual clearance holders—towards a more consistent, more portable, more risk-aware model.

Here's AusClear's look back at the year that was, with a practical lens on what it means for applicants, clearance holders, sponsoring organisations, and anyone trying to stay compliant without losing their mind.

1. The Headline Shift: TS-PA Replaces Positive Vetting

The most attention-grabbing change in late 2025 was Defence's announcement that Top Secret–Privileged Access (TS-PA) has replaced Positive Vetting (PV) as Australia's highest-level security clearance, with the intent of standardising top secret clearances under a single vetting authority managed within ASIO.

What This Means in Practice (The Non-Hysterical Version)

For individuals: the biggest near-term takeaway is not "panic"—it's keep your house in order. If you're already holding PV, the transition is framed as administrative and timed. The real risk is still the boring stuff: undisclosed changes in circumstance, poor security habits, or avoidable integrity issues.

For employers and sponsors: this is an opportunity to tighten the end-to-end lifecycle—position design, access justification, onboarding controls, and revalidation planning—because top-end access tends to be where governance gaps become career-ending.

2. PSPF Release 2025: Policy Baseline Meets Modern Threat Reality

The other major pillar in 2025 was the PSPF Annual Release 2025, published 24 July 2025, reinforcing that the PSPF sets the whole-of-government protective security baseline across six domains, and prescribes what Commonwealth entities must do to protect people, information and resources.

That's not new in principle—but what was notable is how explicitly the PSPF conversation in 2025 leaned into technology driven threat and uplift reform.

In other words: the PSPF wasn't just polishing the furniture. It was trying to future-proof the building.

What Industry Should Take from PSPF 2025

If you're a Defence-adjacent business, integrator, SME, or contractor: PSPF updates matter because they reshape what "good enough" looks like when you're handling government information, providing services into sensitive environments, or employing cleared staff.

A useful external take (from a legal/compliance lens) noted that PSPF 2025 went beyond routine annual updates and flagged concepts like Zero Trust and improved visibility of technology assets as part of the direction of travel.

3. AGSVA: Performance Transparency and What It Signals

One of the more underappreciated parts of 2025 was AGSVA's continued push for visibility and performance reporting.

AGSVA's KPI reporting outlines three categories of targets—timeliness, customer experience, and quality—and notes that KPI target outcomes are provided in the Annual Update.

AGSVA also publishes current-year performance tables (updated periodically), showing processing time performance by clearance level. The details fluctuate by period, but the key point is that AGSVA is measuring and publicly reporting performance, including volumes completed.

And at the APS leadership level, the Secretaries Board explicitly noted the AGSVA Annual Update 2024–25 in its 19 November 2025 communique.

Why This Matters (Beyond "Nice Chart, Mate")

When an agency reports performance and senior APS leadership is paying attention, it generally signals two things:

1. Vetting capacity and service standards remain a strategic priority, not just an HR admin function
2. Process optimisation and standardisation are part of a broader reform agenda, which aligns neatly with the TS-PA direction at the top end and PSPF uplift reform across the policy baseline

4. What 2025 Reminded Everyone: Clearance Maintenance is an Everyday Obligation

Most people obsess over "getting" a clearance, but 2025 was another reminder that keeping it is the real game.

AGSVA's Security Clearance Applicant Guide Book puts it plainly: clearance holders have a personal obligation to inform AGSVA of significant changes in personal circumstances, reported via Change of Circumstance in the myClearance portal.

The AusClear View: "Non-Events" Are What Burn People

In practice, the most damaging clearance issues often come from things people didn't treat as reportable or relevant:

• "It was just a quick overseas trip."
• "It was just a new relationship."
• "It was just a side business."
• "It was just a rough patch financially."

Clearance risk rarely announces itself with fireworks. It usually arrives as a pile of small omissions and avoidable judgement calls—then gets assessed through the lens of trustworthiness and reliability.

5. The Threat Environment in 2025: Foreign Interference, Judgement, and Disclosure

While policy and process dominated the official updates, the broader context through 2025 kept reinforcing the same operational truth: personnel security and foreign influence risk remain front and centre.

One widely reported example (not unique in principle, but very public) involved an ADF officer whose clearance was revoked following concerns about judgement, disclosure failures, and foreign influence vulnerabilities.

The details of individual cases vary, but the recurring pattern is consistent with what the PSPF and vetting frameworks are built around: risk is assessed through behaviour, disclosure, and vulnerability—not just through checkboxes.

6. What Sponsors and Employers Should Have Improved in 2025

A lot of 2025's changes weren't "new rules" so much as a nudge to do the fundamentals properly.

If you're sponsoring staff or employing cleared personnel, these are the capability areas that the 2025 landscape rewards:

Cleaner Access Design

TS-PA's standardisation intent is partly about mobility and consistency. That only works if agencies and organisations are disciplined about what access is required, why, and how it's governed.

Better Onboarding and Reporting Culture

AGSVA's own guidance stresses the role of timely action and responsiveness (even down to referees being reachable as a common delay factor).

That same logic applies after granting: reporting culture has to be normal, supported, and non-punitive for genuine issues.

Tech Governance Aligned to PSPF Direction

PSPF Release 2025 explicitly references AI and emerging technologies as part of protective security policy changes.

So if your environment has shadow AI tools, unmanaged SaaS sprawl, or "we'll sort it later" identity controls… well, 2026 will not be kinder.

7. What to Watch as We Move into 2026

Based on the public direction set in 2025, these are the likely focus areas as the next year unfolds:

1. More detail and operationalisation of TS-PA transition arrangements, especially around revalidation timing and portability between agencies
2. Continued PSPF uplift activity, particularly where it intersects with technology assurance, gateway security, and systems designated as significant
3. Ongoing scrutiny of personnel security behaviours—disclosure, foreign influence vulnerability, and security practice—because the threat environment isn't getting simpler
4. Sustained pressure on timeliness and customer experience, with KPIs and annual updates remaining visible at senior levels

How AusClear Can Guide You Through the Evolving Landscape

AusClear provides expert advisory services to help individuals and organisations navigate the changing security clearance environment. While we are not DISP-accredited and do not sponsor clearances directly, we offer comprehensive guidance on:

• Understanding the TS-PA transition and what it means for existing PV holders
• Navigating PSPF 2025 requirements for technology governance and protective security
• Maintaining clearance compliance and understanding reporting obligations
• Preparing for revalidation and continuous monitoring requirements
• Connecting with appropriate DISP-accredited sponsors when required
• Strategic career planning in the evolving clearance landscape

Our advisory services help you stay ahead of industry developments, understand compliance requirements, and position yourself strategically for success in an increasingly complex security environment.

Key Takeaways from 2025

Closing Thought: 2025 Wasn't About Making Clearances "Harder"—It Was About Making Them More Disciplined

If you're looking for a neat summary: 2025 pushed the system towards standardisation at the top, modernisation at the policy baseline, and realism about technology and human risk.

For individuals, that means the old truths still apply—be honest, disclose early, keep your life admin tidy—but with more attention now on how technology, data handling, and emerging threat vectors intersect with personal reliability.

For organisations, it means protective security is not something you "leave to the security team." It's governance, systems, culture, and leadership. And yes, paperwork. There's always paperwork.

For expert advisory support navigating the 2026 clearance landscape, contact AusClear for personalised guidance tailored to your situation.