Enabling and protecting monitoring systems: How HydroTerra’s Datastream™ supports SOCI compliance

The Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (the SOCI Act) outlines the legal obligations you have if you own, operate, or have direct interests in critical infrastructure assets.

The 2023 Critical Infrastructure Resilience Strategy defines critical infrastructure as: those physical facilities, supply chains, information technologies and communication networks, which if destroyed, degraded or rendered unavailable for an extended period, would significantly impact the social or economic wellbeing of the nation, or affect Australia’s ability to conduct national defence and ensure national security.

View the Act here

There was recently an independent review of The Security of Critical Infrastructure Act, conducted by Dr. Jill Slay between November 2025 and January 2026. The review assessed whether Australia’s Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (SOCI Act) is achieving its intended objectives, functioning as intended, and is not producing unintended consequences. The overarching conclusion is that the SOCI Act requires major legislative change to remove complexity and confusion while becoming more agile and responsive.

Read the independent review here

A useful discussion on the ramifications of the changes can be found here.

“The SoCI Act is likely to be significantly overhauled in the short to medium term, including to: expand its coverage (to AI services, hyperscalers, content delivery networks, space assets, and drone detection and response). … We expect the Federal Government will shift its posture from encouraging compliance to visible enforcement, using expanded powers and penalty mechanisms to enhance deterrence and force sector-wide uplifts.”

So, change is upon us. The need to be planning how to monitor and integrate monitoring in the near future will require careful consideration of regulatory and technology changes. Monitoring system design is a service that HydroTerra has developed over the last twenty years: typically working as collaborative teams. This design service provides time for careful consideration of the: what, when, where and how of monitoring. This service becomes more critical during a period of significant technological and regulatory change. Design considers:

• Measurement methods
• Data integrity assurance
• Secure telemetry pathways
• Controlled access and user governance
• Resilience through cloud hosted infrastructure
• Supply chain transparency.

Please send an email if you would like further information on our design services.

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