(Professor) Hadrian’s Wall: The Role of the Australian Research Council in Research Security

Research security is the action of protecting sensitive, classified or commercially valuable knowledge and technologies from espionage, theft, interference and illicit transfers. Yet academic explorations of research security are still at their most formative stages. This is especially the case in Australia and its universities, which has been accused in recent years of falling behind research security efforts compared to other Western nations such as the United States (‘US’), Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union (‘EU’). This article has two purposes. The first is to highlight the important role that the Australian Research Council (‘ARC’) has played in providing Australian research security. The second purpose of this paper is to illustrate the significant undeveloped potential for the ARC. Drawing on examples from the funding bodies in the US and Canada (including recent changes to their enabling statutes and regulations), this article argues for an increased role for the ARC in securing the university research enterprise.