We’re living in a time of exponential change. From policing to intelligence, cyber crime to terrorism, and fraud to customs – the need for a skilled workforce ready to protect our communities has never been greater. That’s the view of Charles Sturt’s Associate Professor Nick O’Brien.

Nick leads Charles Sturt’s Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security. He was previously in charge of international counter terrorism at New Scotland Yard and represented the UK at the G8 counter-terrorist practitioners meetings. And he has a wealth of inside knowledge on the industry. So what does this industry need, Nick?

“Professionals ready to step-up in their career and develop sophisticated skills and knowledge to meet booming demand. Those ready to combat future threats to our way of life, privacy and national security.”

Up for the challenge? If you’re ready, we’re ready.

At Charles Sturt University, we have a wide range of postgraduate qualifications to boost your career and protect communities.

How will you boost your skills, advance your career, become a leader, make a difference, and make study work around your schedule? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Take on one of our postgraduate degrees in policing, law, security, or customs and you’ll be studying with Australia’s most experienced online uni.

What’s more, you’ll be setting yourself up for career success. After all, we’re…

Policing

Build on your experience in operational policing and security with a postgrad qualification in police leadership. Move up the ranks and be ready to tackle what’s ahead, including practical challenges of contemporary leadership, regulatory conflicts, and competing risks and priorities in administrative and operational environments.

With many of our postgrad qualifications, you can choose to also dive further into your particular area of interest and pair it with your leadership learning. Think subjects like intelligence, fraud or terrorism. Broaden your knowledge and stay on the cutting edge.

To take the first step, study the University Certificate in Workforce Essentials online, for just $700. Then progress to the Associate Degree in Policing Practice (ADPP). You’ll complete your first session online, so you can balance work, life and study. From March 2024, in Session 2 you’ll earn a salary while you study on campus at the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn. Over 16 weeks, you’ll earn $1,360 per week plus superannuation and allowances – that’s approximately $30,894!

Intelligence

Explore the world of intelligence analysis and you’ll anticipate, prepare for and prevent tomorrow’s threats. Most law enforcement agencies have an intelligence function – Australian Border Force, the AFP, ASIO or Australian Secret Intelligence Service (which is our equivalent of the UK’s MI6). These agencies are experiencing significant growth, with high demand for skilled professionals. Sign up as an intelligence analyst or dive into managerial strategic intelligence.

Study basic and operational intelligence, managing intelligence, analytics, and national security issues. And don’t forget, you’ll have the option to pick electives that will broaden your knowledge base – for example counter terrorism.   

Counter-terrorism

Our postgrad qualifications will bring you up to speed with terrorism in cyberspace, terrorist financing and resourcing, and illicit network analysis. Review the history of terrorism – it’s an important way to deal with current and future threats. Jump into contemporary terrorism, counter-terrorism and radicalisation. Only when you understand what motivates people to turn to terrorism and how and why people are radicalised can you begin to counter it.

Be at the cutting edge as you study areas of growing concern, including right-wing extremism and terrorism. Charles Sturt is one of the first unis in the world to offer this as a subject. Information coming from ASIO, the USA and UK all identify right-wing terrorism as a high priority future issue.

What are the career possibilities? How about joining the family of organisations within the National Intelligence Community?

• Australian Geo-spatial Intelligence Organisation
• Office of National Intelligence
• Australian Signals Directorate
• Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
• Defence Intelligence Organisation
• Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
• The intelligence functions of the Australian Federal Police, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre and The Department of Home Affairs
• Australian Secret Intelligence Service

Fraud and financial crime

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission believes the cost to our economy due to financial crime is billions of dollars each year. Billions. You could work to combat it in public, corporate and law enforcement sectors – regulatory bodies, finance, banking, insurance, financial planning or policing.

Whether it’s anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, fraud or financial crime ­– you’ll advance your career while working to protect communities from crimes that can span the globe. From large-scale operations to the fallout from the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, there’s a continued demand for specialised professionals equipped to prevent, detect and investigate.

Cyber crime

IT and computer science are used more than ever before, across most industries and sectors. And we’re increasingly dependent on these systems. At the same time, cyber criminals are continuously developing more sophisticated methods and have more points of attack.

So, cyber security is an ongoing battle. Cyberwarfare. Dark web. Digital forensics. Terrorism. Virtual threats might seem a world away, but we’re all affected by cyber security threats. Fraud, hacking, theft and increasingly sophisticated exploits by cybercriminals mean the cost and incidence of cyber crime is rising globally.

The Australian Cyber Security Growth Network projects that over the next decade the size of the cyber security industry in Australia may be tripled, with revenues rising from just over $2 billion today to possibly $6 billion by 2026. We’ll need plenty of innovative thinkers to help us stay one step ahead in the fight against cyber crime.

Customs

The world of customs and border protection is incredibly complex. Some seriously smart and dedicated people devise and uphold it. The chaos they shield us from is immense. They do it by keeping pace with the technological advances. Advances in trade and transport, globalisation, e-commerce and international process and procedure.

What’s more, if you want to help manage the challenges of today’s global trading environment, you’ll need new skills. Skills in fields such as artificial intelligence, cyber security and data analytics. Because with the ever-increasing volume and speed of global trade, the effective management of data is critical for both regulators and the international trading community.

Choose your course and advance your career

Are you ready to combat future threats to our way of life, privacy and national security – and advance your career? Take your career into the future with a Charles Sturt postgraduate qualification in policing, law, security, or customs.