What it means for law firms working with government – and those that want to.
In Australian Government procurement, security credentials open or close the door before capability enters the room. For law firms in this market, that shift has become a defining factor in how mandates are won – and lost.
HighQ has now been assessed against IRAP PROTECTED classification level controls – the standard the Australian Government applies to sensitive workloads.
What IRAP assessment means in practice
The Information Security Registered Assessors Program (IRAP) is the Australian Government’s framework for independently evaluating the security of technology products and vendors. For most government procurement, it is not a differentiator. It is the baseline requirement for being considered at all.
PROTECTED is the highest classification level at which commercial cloud platforms are typically assessed under IRAP. It covers the majority of sensitive Australian Government workloads, which means it covers the work that matters most to your government clients.
The assessment was completed in May 2026 against the September 2025 Information Security Manual (ISM).
HighQ voluntarily underwent this assessment. That was a deliberate choice – one that signals the same level of commitment to security that government clients hold their own systems to.
What changes for law firms
If your firm advises government agencies, or is actively pursuing government work, being IRAP assessed against PROTECTED classification level controls changes the conversation at the procurement stage.
Previously, responding to security questions in a government tender meant assertions. Now you can respond with documented proof – an assessment by an independent IRAP assessor against the Australian Government’s own security controls framework.
Three things follow from that:
- For firms already serving government: When a government agency evaluates your technology as part of a panel or procurement assessment, HighQ has already been assessed against the same framework they apply to their own systems.
- For firms pursuing government work: The security objection – the one that can stop a conversation before it starts – has already been answered. HighQ carries that proof, not you.
- For regulated-sector clients beyond government: The same security scrutiny is moving into financial services, healthcare, and other compliance-intensive sectors. An IRAP PROTECTED assessment holds up there too.
Among IRAP-assessed platforms available to Australian law firms, HighQ is purpose-built for client collaboration, matter management, and legal workflow automation.
“My view has always been that security earns its credibility through proof, not assertion – it has to extend well beyond ticking a box. That’s why an IRAP PROTECTED assessment matters to me. It’s independent evidence that the platform our clients depend on meets the same standard the government applies to itself, and that we sustain that standard rather than reach it once.”
Clyde Netto, Regional Head of Technology and Cyber Security, Thomson Reuters, Asia and Emerging Markets.
What this means for your clients
Government agencies working with HighQ can now do so knowing the platform has been assessed against PROTECTED-level controls – independently, against the current ISM. Sensitive workloads, collaborative matters, regulatory filings: the compliance question has a documented answer.
For professionals navigating government procurement or advising agencies on technology adoption, that matters. Security isn’t a box to check after you’ve chosen a vendor. It’s how agencies determine which vendors make the list.
“HighQ was built for the complexity of legal work – the collaboration, the matter management, the client-facing workflows that law firms rely on every day. An IRAP PROTECTED assessment means firms no longer have to choose between the tools they want and the security their government clients require. The HighQ platform meets both.”
Samantha Hilton, Product, Thomson Reuters
What comes next
This assessment reflects how Thomson Reuters meets the security standards of the markets it serves.
For Australian law firms, milestones like this matter: not as announcements, but as signals of where the bar is being set. Government procurement will keep raising the security threshold. The firms positioned to win will be the ones already over it.
