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Security report for communications.gov.au

Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts · Government · Australia

Partial score · DNS & email only

64/100

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts is an Australian government entity responsible for a broad range of public sector functions including infrastructure policy, transport regulation, communications, arts, sport, and regional development. The website serves as an authoritative source of information and resources for Australian citizens, industry stakeholders, and government partners. It is positioned as a key government department with enterprise-level scale and influence. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 10 and hosted on the GovCMS platform, which is tailored for Australian government websites. The use of Bootstrap 4.5.0 and accessibility features indicates a modern and responsive design approach. Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics are implemented with IP anonymization, reflecting moderate user tracking balanced with privacy considerations. Performance and SEO optimizations are good, with clear navigation and consistent branding. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and avoids exposing sensitive data. However, it lacks visible security headers and explicit privacy and cookie policies in the analyzed content, which are areas for improvement. The WHOIS data is limited due to auDA policies but aligns with expectations for Australian government domains, supporting the site's legitimacy. No WAF or blocking mechanisms were detected, allowing full content access. Overall, the site demonstrates a strong business credibility and technical foundation with room to enhance privacy compliance and security best practices. Strategic recommendations include publishing comprehensive privacy and cookie policies, implementing security headers, and providing clear incident response and vulnerability disclosure information.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
6of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • Critical

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching communications.gov.au

This scan found 13 issues across 5 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
0
Email security
80
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
64

Not counted

  • Security headers: did not complete in this scan.
  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

The department operates as a government agency with a mandate covering multiple sectors including infrastructure, transport, communications, arts, sport, and regional development. Its business model is service and policy delivery funded by government budgets. The target audience includes Australian citizens, industry participants, and other government bodies. The department holds a strong market position as an official government entity with authoritative regulatory and policy roles. The website supports transparency and public engagement but does not appear to monetize or engage in commercial activities. Partnerships likely include other government agencies and industry stakeholders. Growth indicators are not applicable given the government context, but the site reflects ongoing updates and program information.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS and anonymized IP tracking via Google Analytics. No sensitive data leakage or vulnerable libraries were detected in the provided content. However, the absence of common security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options reduces defense-in-depth. There is no visible security policy, incident response, or vulnerability disclosure information, which are important for transparency and trust. The WHOIS data is consistent with government domain registration policies, reducing risk of spoofing or fraud. Overall, the site is secure but could improve by adopting additional security headers and publishing security-related policies.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy prominently linked on the website.
  2. Implement a cookie consent mechanism to comply with privacy regulations.
  3. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  4. Provide publicly accessible security policy and incident response contact information.
  5. Enable DNSSEC for the domain to enhance DNS security.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts
Description
Our work covers infrastructure, communications, the arts, transport, and our regions, sport and territories.
Key services
Infrastructure policy and regulation, Transport management, Communications oversight, Arts and sport development, Regional and territorial administration
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, GovCMS, Bootstrap 4.5.0, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, ReadSpeaker
Frameworks
Drupal CMS, Bootstrap CSS framework
Platforms
GovCMS (Australian government hosting platform)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Google Tag Manager with anonymize IP enabled
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

Design
good
User experience
good
Content relevance
good
Navigation
good
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is an official Australian government department site.
  2. Content is extensive and well-structured with deep navigation menus.
  3. No signs of blocking or WAF challenges.
  4. WHOIS data is limited due to auDA policy but consistent with government domains.
  5. No privacy or cookie policy links explicitly found in the provided HTML snippet.
  6. Use of modern CMS (Drupal 10) and GovCMS platform indicates good technical maturity.
  7. Google Analytics and Tag Manager used with IP anonymization enabled.
  8. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly found in the provided content.
  9. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information found.
  10. No explicit security headers detected in the provided data.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern Drupal 10 CMS integrated with GovCMS, a government-specific hosting platform. It uses Bootstrap 4.5.0 for responsive design and includes accessibility features. Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics are used for analytics with IP anonymization enabled. The site loads multiple JavaScript chunks and stylesheets, indicating modular design. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly with proper meta tags and Open Graph data. No critical technical debt or outdated libraries were detected. Opportunities exist to improve security headers and privacy compliance features.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

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