Maximise your Defence Industry Development Grant
Align your cybersecurity investment with grant requirements and achieve real compliance progress — not just a report. We help you scope DIDG-eligible activities, build Essential Eight maturity, and prepare grant acquittal evidence.
Grant Allocation
DIDG Cybersecurity Investment
The DIDG grant challenges keeping you up at night
Not sure how to scope cybersecurity in your grant
The grant allows "eligible cybersecurity activities" but you don't know what qualifies. Spending money on generic audits feels wasteful when you need real compliance progress for DISP.
Worried about acquittal and audit compliance
Your grant acquittal deadline is approaching and you need to prove you spent money on eligible activities with measurable outcomes. You don't want to get rejected or questioned by auditors.
Unclear about DISP readiness requirements
You want to use the grant to build DISP readiness but you're uncertain what that actually means. Is it just Essential Eight? Do you also need policies and documentation? What's the full picture?
Tight budget for limited internal expertise
Your team doesn't have deep expertise in defence compliance frameworks. Getting external advice to scope the grant properly feels expensive but spending the grant ineffectively is worse.
What's included in DIDG grant cybersecurity scoping
DIDG grant scoping & eligibility advice
Guidance on what cybersecurity activities qualify for DIDG funding and how to structure your spending for maximum compliance impact and audit defensibility.
Cybersecurity health assessment
Current-state assessment of your cyber maturity across Essential Eight, governance, and compliance readiness — identifying where grant funding delivers maximum value.
Essential Eight uplift roadmap
Prioritised roadmap to Essential Eight Maturity Level 2 aligned with DIDG milestones, timelines, and expected outcomes for reporting and acquittal purposes.
Governance and documentation plan
Security policies, procedures, and governance documentation required for DISP readiness — embedded into your grant activities with clear ownership and timelines.
Grant acquittal evidence package
Structured documentation and evidence supporting your grant spending claims — control assessments, implementation records, and outcomes reporting ready for audit.
DISP readiness checkpoint
Validation that your grant activities, when completed, position you for successful DISP application — including pre-application readiness assessment and remediation guidance.
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Who this service is for
Manufacturing SMEs Entering Defence
You've been awarded a DIDG grant and need to build cyber capability for DISP. You want to maximise the grant by investing in real compliance progress, not just a shelf-ware report.
Defence Suppliers with Limited Cyber Budget
The DIDG grant is your chance to build cyber maturity without derailing your operating budget. You need expert guidance to ensure every dollar spent counts toward real compliance milestones.
Frequently asked questions
What cybersecurity activities count as DIDG eligible?
DIDG grants generally support activities that build cyber capability for defence market participation. Eligible activities include security assessments, compliance implementation, policy and governance development, staff training, and tools/infrastructure. We review your grant terms with you and map eligible activities to maximum compliance impact. The key is demonstrating that spending delivers measurable maturity outcomes — not just theory.
How do we prove grant spending in acquittal?
We build evidence packages throughout the project — control assessments, implementation records, policy documents, compliance reports, and outcome metrics. By the time acquittal is due, you have documented evidence of eligible spending and measurable compliance progress. This evidence is also audit-defensible, which protects you from questions or challenges during assessment.
Can we use the grant for implementation support as well as assessment?
Yes. Most DIDG grants support both assessment and implementation activities. In fact, assessment-only spending without implementation leaves you with findings but no maturity progress — which doesn't help DISP readiness. We typically recommend a mix: assessment to understand gaps, then implementation and documentation to close them. This delivers both compliance progress and grant-acquittal evidence.
What if our grant is smaller than a full E8 uplift?
We scope the grant activities to what's realistic within your budget. This might mean a subset of E8 controls, or focusing on the highest-impact areas (e.g., access control, encryption, patch management). We prioritise activities that deliver the most measurable compliance progress and position you for follow-up funding or internal investment. The goal is building genuine momentum, not creating a gap that your team can't maintain.
How does DIDG cybersecurity work lead to DISP readiness?
DISP requires Essential Eight Maturity Level 2 as a core cyber requirement, plus documented governance and security practices. A well-scoped DIDG investment in E8 uplift and governance builds both. By completing DIDG-funded activities, you're not just meeting grant requirements — you're building the compliance foundation for DISP. We align grant activities to DISP checkpoints so the outcome is clear readiness for application.
What if we're not approved for a DIDG grant yet?
Start with our free health check. We'll assess your cyber maturity and help you understand whether DISP readiness should be part of your DIDG grant application — and what activities to propose. This positions you to apply for a grant that's appropriately scoped to your needs and our recommended roadmap.