Media release: New Report
Time to Act: Collaborating on Resilient PNT for a Secure Australia
For Immediate Release
FrontierSI, June 2025
Melbourne, Aus: FrontierSI, a leader in geospatial innovation, has released a new report urging national action to strengthen Australia’s Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) systems. The report, “Beyond GPS: Charting Australia’s PNT Future in an Uncertain World,” is the first major review of how international partners are protecting their PNT systems and what Australia needs to do to keep pace.
PNT is a hidden but vital technology that powers everything from mobile phones and bank transfers to defence systems and emergency services.
Right now, Australia has developed its economy to rely almost entirely on the United States’ GPS. But growing global threats, including cyber-attacks, satellite interference and conflict in space, mean this single point of dependence could put Australia at serious risk.
“Our lives, our productivity and our economy are built upon reliable and available PNT systems such as GPS for just about everything we do, yet we’re relying too heavily on a system that we don’t control and are increasingly vulnerable,” said Graeme Kernich, CEO of FrontierSI. “Like-minded countries are prioritising more resilient PNT systems and building them. We need leadership, policy development, and a national strategy to start on the road to ensuring we’re protected in the years ahead.”
The report shows that countries like the UK, US, EU, Canada and Japan are already investing in more resilient systems that combine satellite, ground-based, and emerging technologies. These countries also have clear strategies, government coordination, and strong civil-military partnerships.
In contrast, Australia urgently needs a national PNT policy, a lead agency, and a plan to manage the emerging risks. Without action, Australia could face major disruptions to our key economic sectors of transport, energy, communications, and defence operations.
To address this, the report recommends:
- Establishing a national PNT entity to lead strategy and coordinate across government
- Investing in innovation and homegrown technologies
- Building systems to monitor and assure PNT performance
- Strengthening Defence coordination to protect mission-critical operations
“PNT resilience is not just about technological innovation; it requires robust governance and sustained political will. Our strategic allies are already securing their PNT systems through multi-layered, system-of-systems approaches. Australia must do the same or risk falling dangerously behind in protecting our critical infrastructure and national sovereignty.” said Eldar Rubinov, FrontierSI’s PNT Lead.
The report calls on the Australian Government to treat PNT like other essential services, such as electricity or telecommunications, and to make it a national priority.
Read the full report here.
This work was delivered through the Armouring the Clock project, funded by the Department of Defence Strategic Policy Grants Program.
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About FrontierSI
FrontierSI is a social enterprise focused on bringing the best people together to anticipate and solve large problems using our space and spatial expertise. Through collaboration with government, research, and industry networks, we bring innovative ideas through to real-world products and services to create commercial and public good impact. We focus our deep spatial expertise in positioning, geodesy, spatial applications and data analytics to develop and implement solutions to meet challenges across multiple sectors from defence to resources. https://frontiersi.com.au
Contact Information
For more information about this work or to engage with FrontierSI on national PNT strategy and resilience, please contact Eldar Rubinov, FrontierSI’s Positioning & Geodesy Technical Lead or Jia Urnn-Lee, FrontierSI’s Space and Defence Lead.