DISP Consulting and Membership Support

What does DISP consulting from Agilient cover?

A DISP engagement takes a business from an honest view of where it stands to a complete, well-evidenced application, and then keeps the membership in good order. Agilient’s DISP consultants cover the following.

• DISP readiness and gap assessment. A review of current arrangements against the requirements for the target membership level in each of the four domains, with a prioritised list of what must change.
• Membership level advice. Confirming whether membership is mandatory for the work being pursued and which level is justified in each domain.
• Security governance. Security policy and security plan, the Chief Security Officer and Security Officer roles, incident reporting, insider threat arrangements and security awareness, written so they work in practice rather than sit on a shelf.
• Personnel security. Pre-employment screening aligned with AS 4811:2022 Workforce Screening, ongoing suitability and clearance management for cleared staff.
• Physical security. Site security risk assessment, perimeter and access control, and advice on the zone and certification requirements that apply to classified holdings.
• ICT and cyber security. Coordination of the ICT and cyber domain with the business’s IT provider, including the evidence needed to show the Essential Eight at Maturity Level 2 on systems used to correspond with Defence.
• Application support. Preparing the application pack and the Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) declaration, and responding to questions from Defence.
• Ongoing membership support. Regular reporting, security incident reporting, Security Officer changes and making sure subcontractors understand their DISP obligations.

Which DISP membership level does a business need?

DISP has four membership levels, each mapped to a security classification. A business can hold different levels in different domains, but its security governance level must equal the highest level it holds in any other domain.¹

Membership is mandatory where a business works with PROTECTED or higher information or assets, supplies, maintains, stores or transports weapons or explosive ordnance, provides security services to Defence bases or facilities, or where a Defence contract requires it. Defence highly recommends membership for other businesses working on or seeking Defence projects.¹ Agilient advises on the level that matches the work, because applying for more than the work requires adds cost and delay.

How does a DISP engagement with Agilient run?

• 1. Briefing. A short conversation about the Defence work being pursued, the target level and any deadline from a prime or a tender.
• 2. Gap assessment. Document review, interviews and a site visit across the four domains, with findings ranked by what matters most for the application.
• 3. Uplift. Drafting or revising the governance documents, closing physical and personnel gaps and agreeing the cyber evidence with the IT provider.
• 4. Application. Assembling the application and FOCI declaration so Defence receives a complete, consistent pack.
• 5. Through-life support. Optional ongoing support as the business’s security adviser, so reporting, incidents and changes are handled properly.

Defence assesses every application and decides on membership, so no consultant can guarantee approval or a fixed timeframe. What a consultant can do is make sure the application is complete and the arrangements behind it are real, which avoids the most common causes of delay.

Why defence suppliers choose Agilient for DISP

Agilient works with defence suppliers across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and regional Australia. Where a business also needs to manage foreign investment risk, Agilient’s FIRB and FOCI compliance service applies the same discipline.