Australia's ASD sets end-2026, end-2028 and end-2030 planning milestones
22 SEPTEMBER 2025, CANBERRA
The Australian Signals Directorate published post-quantum planning guidance on 22 September 2025. It sets three milestones: a migration plan by the end of 2026, commencement of migration by the end of 2028, and completion by the end of 2030. The staged schedule gives Australian organizations a clear sequence to follow rather than a single distant deadline.
The guidance uses a framework the ASD calls LATICE to structure the work. The framework organizes the steps so that planning leads to commencement, which leads to completion, in a coherent method. That structure helps organizations avoid treating migration as ad hoc effort and instead work through defined stages.
The dates complement the ISM control for government cryptography. ISM-1917 requires new government cryptography to support post-quantum algorithms by 2030, and the ASD planning guidance supplies the staged path to reach that horizon. Pairing the control with the schedule tells agencies both what to adopt and when to adopt it, which reduces the chance of a last-minute rush.
Why it matters. The ASD guidance converts Australia's 2030 horizon into a dated, staged plan, with the end-2026 planning milestone as the first checkpoint. Because migration depends on first understanding the estate, that 2026 date is the one that most affects whether the later milestones are achievable. Organizations that build their plan now have the full window to commence and complete migration on schedule.