Australia’s auction and valuation professions have provided detailed advice to the Australian Parliament on strengthening cyber security for small and medium businesses. Drawing on frontline experience with sensitive client information, high-value assets, financial transactions and digital platforms, the professions have outlined practical reforms that would improve resilience while recognising the operating realities of smaller businesses.
The Auctioneers and Valuers Association of Australia (AVAA) was invited to make a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into cyber security for small to medium sized businesses and organisations on behalf of the sector. The submission was informed by AVAA’s 2026 Valuation and Auction Sector Cyber Security Survey, that was completed by certified valuers and auctioneers plus other industry participants across Australia.
About the parliamentary inquiry
The Australian Parliament is examining cyber maturity among small and medium businesses and organisations, including not-for-profits. Its work covers government guidance, appropriate standards, access to cyber security services, employee training and participation in government and corporate supply chains. The Committee will use submissions and direct business evidence to recommend practical national policy improvements and outcomes.
Auctioneers and valuers operate at a particularly sensitive intersection of personal information, valuable assets, financial transactions and time-critical digital services. Their work can involve client identity records, asset locations, valuation reports, reserve prices, bidder information, bank details and online auction platforms. Protecting these systems and records is fundamental to professional integrity, client confidence and orderly markets.
The survey found that two-thirds of respondents rated awareness of cyber security risks as very high. Common protections included software updates, endpoint protection, multifactor authentication, firewalls and password managers. Respondents also identified opportunities to strengthen incident-response planning, encryption, backups, device management, staff training and oversight of external technology providers.
In the submission, AVAA has called for a nationally recognised and proportionate cyber security standard for small organisations, supported by scalable maturity levels. It recommended that government agencies and major corporations recognise compliance with the standard through their procurement processes, helping smaller suppliers reduce repetitive questionnaires and duplicated compliance costs.
The submission also proposed sector-specific guidance, practical checklists, model policies, incident-response templates, subsidised cyber security health checks, incentives for priority improvements and a trusted-provider framework. Further Australian Government funding was recommended for the CyberWardens training program delivered by the Council of Small Business Organsations of Australia (COSBOA) program, together with clearer security information from technology providers and timely threat alerts distributed through trusted industry associations.
The submission highlighted the importance of delivering support through organisations with established industry relationships. Professional associations can translate general government guidance into familiar workflows, realistic examples and continuing education. This co-design approach would combine government expertise with frontline knowledge, improve adoption and embed cyber security within everyday professional practice.
Importantly, the auction and valuation sectors are already acting. AVAA Professional Standard 13 – Cyber Security & Technology Risk, establishes profession-specific expectations for protecting client information, managing digital systems, verifying sensitive communications, overseeing providers, maintaining business continuity and responding to significant incidents.
The development of AVAA Professional Standard 13 demonstrates the sector’s proactive approach. It gives practitioners a clear framework for managing cyber risk while providing government with an example of how professional standards can translate broad security principles into practical requirements.
The submission also emphasises that policy must work for sole practitioners and microbusinesses. These businesses often combine governance, technology and operational responsibilities within one or two people. Concise guidance, affordable assistance and realistic implementation pathways are therefore essential to achieving stronger cyber security across the economy.
Member-driven advocacy in action
AVAA advocacy begins with members’ knowledge and experience. Through surveys, committees, consultations and professional standards, practitioners identify emerging risks and practical solutions. AVAA converts that evidence into credible recommendations for governments and regulators, giving CVAu and CAAu credential holders a stronger collective voice and helping ensure public policy reflects the realities of professional practice and delivers better outcomes.
This submission reflects AVAA’s growing capacity to turn members’ professional experience into credible national advocacy. Survey responses provided the evidence, professional standards provided a tested framework, and AVAA brought those elements together into practical recommendations for Parliament.
Through AVAA, professionals with the respected AVAA Certified Valuer (CVAu) and AVAA Certified Auctioneer (CAAu) credentials are doing more than meeting professional requirements. They are helping drive policy reform, giving government direct access to sector expertise and shaping settings that protect clients, businesses and public confidence.
That is the value of belonging to a strong, member-driven professional association. Individual experience becomes a collective voice, and that voice helps shape Australia’s future.
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Interested In Finding Out More?
If you’d like more information on this issue, send an email to standards@avaa.com.au or telephone 1300 928 165. You can also stay up to date by following AVAA on LinkedIn, X/Twitter and Facebook.
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