The Sovereignty Question Just Got a Compliance Date

A new whole-of-government cloud policy came into effect on Wednesday, and outside of Canberra I’m not sure many people noticed. The DTA’s Cloud Policy took effect on 1 July, and it lands alongside the updated AI-in-government policy, where the first mandatory requirements kicked in on 15 June and the rest arrive by December. Worth being precise about scope: this is a Commonwealth policy, so it binds federal (non-corporate Commonwealth) entities, not the states - though I’d be surprised if the states don’t drift the same way over time. If you don’t work with government you can be forgiven for scrolling past all of it. If you do, the thing worth paying attention to is a bit subtle: a question that has been a comfortable think-piece for years just turned into an audit item.