Capital Security, Technology, and Asset Refresh (CapStar) program
Agriculture and trade sector
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)
Tier 2
Project status - Active
Duration - 4 years
Delivery confidence - Medium-High
Investment - $287.9 Million | Digital ($201.2 Million)
The CapSTAR program is a strategic investment to maintain the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s (DAFF) operations, mitigate critical national security and economic risks, and support Australian agricultural, fisheries, and forestry production, which is valued at approximately $100 billion annually.
The project was needed to update ageing ICT systems, dependence on technologies approaching end-of-life or no longer supported and cybersecurity capability.
The transformation will refresh and maintain a sustainable and efficient technology and physical infrastructure by reducing technical debt (future costs associated with choosing quick, suboptimal solutions) and increasing cyber maturity levels. At the same time, the project will ensure DAFF meets obligations under the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s ‘Essential Eight’ mitigation strategies and the Protective Security Policy Framework. Necessary property upgrades are also happening under the program.
Strategic investment supports Australian agricultural, fisheries and forestry industries worth $100 billion a year
To deliver CapSTAR, DAFF developed a 10-year ICT Investment Plan and Property and Capital Management Plan to guide strategic investment. A multi-stream governance structure with oversight from the CapSTAR Program Board was established. The program is informed through broad stakeholder analysis and has embedded change management.
By mid-2025, after one year of operation, the CapSTAR program had delivered several early milestones including:
- enhanced cybersecurity maturity, with improved threat detection and incident response capabilities
- modernised ICT infrastructure, reducing reliance on legacy systems and improving service continuity – end-of-life firewalls, network devices and legacy hardware have been replaced through refresh activities, and internet connectivity and infrastructure has been improved at multiple sites, from airports to remote offices
- improved governance and risk management, reducing enterprise risks and aligning with Commonwealth standards – DAFF has drafted an Archival Framework for decommissioned systems, a Cloud strategy and Cloud Financial Operations framework.
‘At DAFF, our focus is on working together to achieve the best outcomes for our clients – Australian communities. The CapSTAR program is helping us achieve this by ensuring the buildings, systems and applications we use are secure, stable and ready to support our critical work into the future.’
Tess Bishop, Senior Responsible Official, DAFF
More information is available from Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry