CNA Quarterly Reporting
Term 3 2025
Education Working Group
2025 Goals
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Create opportunities for students to engage nationally in STEM education activities
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Design opportunities for teachers and students to engage in activities aligned to educational need
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Create ongoing networking and collaboration opportunities with focus on curriculum, pedagogy, and current trends
Achievements
STEM MAD National 2025 will feature 100 teams from 10 systems of schools, demonstrating continued national momentum and alignment with CNA’s goal of fostering student innovation.
Following an over-subscribed pilot, demand for the AI in Education: Ethical and Responsible Use program expanded from 100 to 147 educators. This 2-hour, self-paced micro-credentialled course—developed with the Cyber Safety Project—now features a dedicated webpage and has been promoted to all CNA participants.
The parent cyber safety webinar, AI & the Digital Generation, exceeded expectations with over 2,000 registrations, representing CNA’s highest engagement for a parent event to date.
Upcoming focuses
Final preparations for the STEM MAD National 2025 event (18 November 2025, Adelaide) remain the group’s key priority. In October, the Working Group will deliver five student incursions during Cyber Safety Week, each tailored to different year groups. Later this year, the Working Group will launch the Online Learning Subgroup to support the delivery of online learning initiatives across the country.
Technology Working Group
2025 Goals
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Improve digital inclusion
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Enhance security
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Define CNA's portfolio of products and services
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Embrace emerging technology
Achievements
The WG contributed technical expertise to the requirement gathering and evaluation process for the Secure Networking and Data Carriage RFP, ensuring diverse participant needs were represented.
Collaboration with Catholic peers under the auspices of the NCEC progressed the design and implementation of the Technology Assessment Framework (TAF) and Technology Assessment Platform (TAP).
Together these initiatives aim to build a national repository of application assessments, based on a standardised framework, creating a shared platform for storing and reviewing assessments—enabling a “do it once, share it with everyone” model that enhances cyber safety, reduces duplication, and increases efficiency.
Upcoming focuses
The WG will continue development of the Technology Assessment Platform, expanding the repository of assessed applications and user training. It will also maintain its collaborative support for the Commercial Working Group in progressing the Data Carriage RFP and preparing for the Microsoft negotiations scheduled for late 2025 and early 2026.
Commercial Working Group
2025 Goals
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Reduce costs of critical technology
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Enhance commercial resource capacity
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Define CNA's portfolio of products and services
Achievements
The CWG established formal Commercial Assessment Principles to facilitate vendor engagement. This framework has increased confidence for assessment of potential vendors. The Data Carriage RFP was released to market, attracting vendor responses from all invited organisations. The process remains on schedule for completion before existing agreements expire in 2026. A new national agreement for Apple devices and services, available to all Participants is progressing. This arrangement is expected to deliver cost savings for all systems, regardless of size, and will include a transparent cost plus pricing standard and professional-learning credits redeemable at school or system level.
Upcoming focuses
Completion of the Data Carriage RFP remains the immediate priority. Following finalisation, the WG will shift focus to Microsoft. Additional efforts will promote negotiated offers and discounts — including Cyber Safety Project, Stile Education, and Makers Empire — to maximise participant value.
Communication Working Group
2025 Goals
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Increase member engagement
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Reflect CNA's vision and focuses in all communications
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Increase awareness of CNA
Achievements
The 2024–2025 CNA Annual Report was completed and distributed, highlighting cross-network achievements.
The Working Group developed an Executive SharePoint environment to streamline recurring activities and enhance the experience for Executive members. The Working Group continued rebuilding the CNA website to enhance navigation and better serve existing, new, and prospective Participants. The website relaunch is planned for later in 2025.
Upcoming focuses
Following the website relaunch, communication efforts will prioritise awareness of new CNA offerings—Cyber Safety Project, Stile Education, and Makers Empire—each supported by new landing pages, newsletter features, and LinkedIn campaigns. Driving engagement with STEM MAD National 2025 through digital channels will also be a key focus.
Governance Working Group
2025 Goal
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Increase understanding and effectiveness of governance framework and structure
Achievements
The Governance WG expanded membership to include privacy and data-protection expertise, strengthening its capability. A comprehensive Policy Impact Matrix was developed to map interdependencies among CNA policies, improving consistency and change management. Board approval was achieved for the revised Governance Working Group Terms of Reference (ToR). The WG also contributed to the development of the Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct, and consulted on updates to the Communications Policy and Information and Records Management Policy.
Upcoming focuses
In November 2025, the WG will host its inaugural face-to-face Governance Summit, Forming Our Foundation, to consolidate governance practice across all Working Groups and reinforce accountability across the CNA network. Additionally, the Working Group will finalise and seek Board approval for the Safeguarding Policy, Code of Conduct, and Communications Policy updates, and will assist in revising the Data Breach Response Plan (DBRP) to ensure alignment with current regulatory requirements.
