Gartner Forecasts Information Security Spending in Australia to Reach Over $7.5 Billion in 2026

SYDNEY, 16 March 2026 - Australian organisations will spend more than AU$7.5 billion on information security in 2026, an increase of 9.5% from 2025, according to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company.

"Despite an uncertain business environment, cybersecurity remains one of the top technology investment priorities for organisations in Australia this year," said Richard Addiscott, VP Analyst at Gartner. "Persistent threat environments and the expanding use of AI - by both defenders and attackers - remain key growth drivers, as well as the continuing talent shortage in Australia and rising demands for cyber resilience."

Gartner analysts are exploring how security and risk management leaders can advance their information security strategies this week at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit taking place in Sydney.

AI Driving Strong Security Software Growth

Gartner forecasts a 12.3% increase on security software spending in Australia to more than AU$3.3 billion in 2026 (see Table 1). The rapid adoption of AI is triggering a spike in the cybersecurity resources required to secure it, with increased investments in security software markets like application security, data security and privacy, and infrastructure protection.

Table 1. Information Security End-User Spending, Australia, 2025-2026 (Millions of AUD)

Source: Gartner (March 2026)

In addition, Gartner predicts over 75% of enterprises will be using AI-amplified cybersecurity products for most cybersecurity use cases by 2028, up from less than 25% in 2025. For example, security vendors are embedding AI-driven threat detection to identify suspicious activity in real-time and using automated incident response to quickly contain breaches.

"The rapid adoption of AI-amplified security is transforming organisations, with some having already implemented these technologies and many piloting use cases," said Addiscott. "GenAI tools are being deployed for cybersecurity, as security teams leveraging traditional security measures struggle to scale and keep pace with a constantly evolving threat environment. This approach is driving growth in specialised AI security solutions."

Security Services Remains Largest Spending Segment

Security services, including consulting, professional and managed security services, remains the largest end-user spending category in Australia. The market is forecast to reach more than AU$3.7 billion in 2026, an increase of 6.9% from 2025.

"This growth is fueled by a growing, and increasingly critical, need for AI-literate security personnel, which is amplifying the continuing cybersecurity talent shortage in Australia," said Addiscott. "This is resulting in organisations needing to depend more on managed security service providers (MSSPs) to fill skill gaps and enhance their security capabilities."

Gartner clients can read more in the report Forecast Analysis: Information Security, Worldwide, 2026.

Learn how to maximise AI's value while managing critical risks with the complimentary ebook AI in Cybersecurity: Minimise Risks and Maximise Impact.

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Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit

Gartner analysts are presenting the latest insights for security and risk management leaders at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit in Sydney this week. Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner Security & Risk Management Summits are June 1-3 in National Harbor, MD, July 22-24 in Tokyo, August 4-5 in Sao Paulo and September 22-24 in London. Follow news and updates from the conferences on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerSEC.

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