What cyber security jobs were advertised across North Queensland in 2025–26?
I keep hearing that cyber security is one of Australia’s fastest-growing technology career paths. That may be true nationally, but it does not answer the question I am more interested in: what does the market actually look like if you live north of Brisbane?
Across 2025 and 2026, employers in North Queensland advertised roles spanning security operations, governance and risk, identity and access management, endpoint security, infrastructure security and broader technology leadership.
So I went looking through current, historical and search-indexed job advertisements to see what employers had actually advertised across Townsville, Cairns, Mackay and the surrounding North Queensland regions.
The short answer is that the market is considerably smaller than Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne, but the jobs are here. The strongest opportunities appear to be for experienced technology professionals who can combine security knowledge with infrastructure, risk, identity or operational IT experience.
This is not an exhaustive list. Advertisements disappear quickly after closing and historical job-board data is imperfect. These are some of the more interesting and representative positions I could verify across Townsville, Cairns and Mackay.
Some of the standout jobs I found
| Employer | Role | Location | Advertised base salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Cook University | Manager, Identity and Access Management | Townsville | $130,115–$137,625 + up to 17% super |
| Townsville City Council | Cyber Security Governance & Assurance Specialist | Townsville | $113,019–$119,946 + super |
| Mackay Regional Council | Senior ICT Endpoint Engineer | Mackay | $113,123–$122,760 + up to 18% super |
| Townsville City Council | Cyber Security Operations Officer | Townsville | $102,640–$109,563 + super |
| Port of Townsville | Cyber Security Engineer | Townsville | Not disclosed in the listing located |
| Cairns Regional Council | Executive Manager Information & Technology Services | Cairns | Not disclosed |
There were also graduate, consulting, systems administration, infrastructure and digital-health positions in which cyber security formed part of a broader technology role.
1. Manager, Identity and Access Management — James Cook University
One of the more senior specialist positions I found was James Cook University’s Manager, Identity and Access Management, with applications closing on 21 June 2026.
The full-time continuing role, based at JCU’s Townsville Bebegu Yumba campus, offered $130,115 to $137,625 per year plus up to 17% employer superannuation.
This went well beyond administering user accounts. The manager was to lead the design and improvement of JCU’s IAM frameworks, develop its strategic roadmap, oversee IAM technologies and user lifecycle management, and align the capability with university cyber security policy and compliance obligations. The advertisement sought extensive IAM experience in large organisations and a relevant degree or equivalent experience.
This is the kind of advertisement I find particularly interesting because it shows security specialisation developing within a regional organisation. Identity is increasingly becoming a discipline in its own right, rather than simply another responsibility of the systems administration team.
Source: James Cook University advertisement reproduced by Academic Jobs
2. Cyber Security Governance & Assurance Specialist — Townsville City Council
Townsville City Council advertised a permanent Cyber Security Governance & Assurance Specialist in July 2026, with applications closing on 4 August. The salary range was $113,019 to $119,946 plus superannuation.
Rather than being a security operations or engineering position, this one focused on governance, risk, compliance and assurance. Its duties included maintaining Council’s ISO 27001-aligned Information Security Management System, conducting cyber risk assessments, coordinating assurance and audit activity, maintaining policies and producing reporting for leadership.
The advertisement specifically referred to ISO 27001, the ACSC Essential Eight and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. I think it is an important role to include because cyber careers are not restricted to penetration testing, firewalls and incident response. Governance, risk and compliance — usually shortened to GRC — is a substantial part of the profession.
Source: Townsville City Council — Cyber Security Governance & Assurance Specialist
3. Cyber Security Operations Officer — Townsville City Council
Council also advertised a permanent Cyber Security Operations Officer in July 2026, with applications closing on 2 August. The advertised salary was $102,640 to $109,563 plus superannuation.
This was much closer to what people probably picture when they think about an operational cyber security role. It involved monitoring and investigating alerts, responding to incidents, working with managed security service providers, reviewing logs and telemetry, supporting threat hunting and coordinating vulnerability remediation.
Taken together, I think Council’s advertisements are particularly interesting. They show two distinct security functions:
Cyber operations: monitoring, detection, vulnerability management and incident response.
Cyber governance and assurance: risk, policy, compliance, audit and security frameworks.
That separation is commonplace in larger security teams, but it is notable to see it so clearly in advertisements from a regional Queensland organisation.
Source: Townsville City Council — Cyber Security Operations Officer
4. Cyber Security Engineer — Port of Townsville
In June 2025, the Port of Townsville advertised a Cyber Security Engineer as a contract or temporary ICT security position. The surviving listing described the engineer as playing a vital role in protecting the Port from cyber threats and having responsibility for security design. I could not locate a dependable advertised salary, so I have not estimated one.
I still think the role is worth highlighting because ports sit at the intersection of conventional enterprise IT and critical operational infrastructure. As industrial and operational technology becomes more connected, a security professional in Townsville may be protecting not only laptops and Microsoft 365 accounts but also systems supporting transport, logistics, utilities and industry.
Source: Archived SEEK results containing the Port of Townsville advertisement
5. Senior ICT Endpoint Engineer — Mackay Regional Council
Not every cyber security job has “cyber security” in its title. Mackay Regional Council’s Senior ICT Endpoint Engineer, advertised in 2026, is a good example.
The role offered a base salary of $113,123 to $122,760 and, according to the advertisement, up to 18% superannuation. It covered endpoint security, device management and ICT projects supporting Council’s digital workplace.
I would describe this as a security-heavy infrastructure role rather than a dedicated cyber position, but that is precisely why it matters when looking at the regional market. Responsibilities that might sit across separate endpoint, Intune, identity, security and infrastructure teams in a capital-city enterprise can be combined in one regional position.
Sources: Mackay Regional Council job listing reproduced on LinkedIn and SEEK’s Mackay Regional Council results
6. Executive Manager Information & Technology Services — Cairns Regional Council
At the other end of the spectrum was Cairns Regional Council’s Executive Manager Information & Technology Services, advertised through Davidson in June 2026.
This was not a dedicated cyber role. It was a broad senior leadership position overseeing a team of about 50 across enterprise systems, infrastructure and operations, architecture, cyber security, project delivery and business partnering. The recruitment material explicitly described responsibility for advancing Council’s digital, data and cyber agenda.
For me, this illustrates another feature of the regional market: meaningful cyber responsibility often forms part of a wider leadership portfolio. A CIO, ICT Manager, Infrastructure Manager or technology executive may carry substantial security and cyber-risk accountability without having “security” anywhere in the title.
Source: Davidson — Executive Manager Information & Technology Services
What about people trying to enter cyber security?
This is where the North Queensland market becomes more difficult. I found substantially fewer advertisements for jobs explicitly described as junior cyber security analysts or entry-level security officers than positions seeking experienced technical or specialist staff.
There are still pathways. KPMG advertised its 2027 Technology & Digital Graduate Program in Townsville during 2026, covering work across cyber security, cloud, data, AI and digital transformation. It also advertised a Technology & Digital Vacationer Program, giving university students another route into cyber-adjacent work.
But the broader pattern is worth paying attention to.
Sources: KPMG graduate program listing and SEEK’s Townsville graduate results
The regional market appears to favour experienced IT professionals
A recurring theme in the advertisements I reviewed was the crossover between traditional IT and cyber security. Employers were looking for capability across areas such as:
- Identity and access management
- Endpoint security and device management
- Microsoft, cloud, networking and infrastructure environments
- Vulnerability management, monitoring and incident response
- Governance, risk and compliance
- ISO 27001, the Essential Eight and security architecture
- Digital transformation, operational technology and critical infrastructure
That creates some interesting career routes. The regional path into cyber security may not necessarily be:
University → Junior Cyber Security Analyst → Security Analyst → Senior Security Analyst
It can just as easily look like:
IT support → systems administration → infrastructure or network engineering → security engineering
Business analysis or audit → risk and compliance → cyber GRC
Systems or cloud administration → identity and access management → IAM specialist or manager
For experienced regional IT professionals wanting to move further into security, that crossover may actually be an advantage.
How many dedicated cyber jobs are there?
This is difficult to measure accurately from public job boards after the fact, but the snapshots I recorded while researching this article give some indication. A broad SEEK search showed three Townsville results in April 2026 and eight around July. A March snapshot showed seven results for Cairns and Far North Queensland and two for Mackay.
Those counts should be treated cautiously. Search results change daily, duplicate advertisements can appear, and keyword searches routinely include jobs that are not really cyber security roles. They are observations, not a census or a time series.
I think the safer conclusion is that the dedicated regional market remains small. That does not mean there is little cyber security work being performed in North Queensland. It means a less visible amount of that work sits inside infrastructure, networking, cloud, risk and technology-management positions.
What do North Queensland cyber jobs pay?
The advertisements with disclosed salaries provide a useful, if small, starting point:
Townsville City Council Cyber Security Operations Officer: $102,640–$109,563 + super
Townsville City Council Cyber Security Governance & Assurance Specialist: $113,019–$119,946 + super
Mackay Regional Council Senior ICT Endpoint Engineer: $113,123–$122,760 + up to 18% super
James Cook University Manager, Identity and Access Management: $130,115–$137,625 + up to 17% super
The superannuation component matters when comparing public-sector and university offers with private-sector salaries.
National salary guides are somewhat higher. Robert Half’s 2026 Australian Salary Guide lists a Cyber-Security Specialist at $135,000 at the 25th percentile, $150,000 at the 50th and $180,000 at the 75th, excluding superannuation, bonuses and other benefits.
That does not prove North Queensland has a cyber security “pay gap”. The regional sample is too small and the jobs are not directly comparable. It does, however, raise an interesting question worth tracking as more regional advertisements appear.
Source: Robert Half Australia — Cyber-Security Specialist salary
Cyber security remains a specialised profession
Jobs and Skills Australia estimates that about 13,300 ICT Security Specialists work nationally. Its broader occupational group — Database and Systems Administrators and ICT Security Specialists — records median full-time earnings of $2,461 per week, compared with $1,852 across all occupations.
The occupation is also highly qualified: 41.5% of ICT Security Specialists hold a bachelor’s degree and another 26.8% hold postgraduate or graduate-level qualifications. In the available state distribution, Queensland accounts for 11.4% of specialists, compared with 34.7% in New South Wales and 29.5% in Victoria.
Sources: Jobs and Skills Australia — ICT Security Specialists and the broader occupational group
Where are North Queensland’s cyber jobs?
Based on the positions I could identify, several sectors stand out.
Local government
Townsville, Mackay and Cairns councils show security becoming a more visible component of regional government ICT. Councils hold personal information and operate financial systems, public-facing services and operational infrastructure, all under growing expectations for resilience and governance.
Education
Universities such as JCU run complex environments spanning thousands of identities, research systems, cloud platforms and valuable information. That creates demand for specialists such as IAM professionals alongside broader security operations staff.
Defence and government
Townsville’s defence presence and Cairns’ maritime and government sectors are potential sources of security-related employment. Some positions also bring requirements less common in commercial IT, including Australian citizenship and security clearances.
Critical infrastructure and industry
The Port of Townsville role shows cyber security moving into environments where IT intersects with physical infrastructure and operational technology. Mining, energy, logistics, ports, water and other regional industries are increasingly dependent on connected systems.
Professional services
Graduate and consulting programs such as KPMG’s Townsville intake offer another route, especially for graduates who want exposure to cyber without immediately relocating to a capital city.
The biggest opportunities may be hidden in the titles
Perhaps the most interesting conclusion from this exercise is that searching only for “cyber security jobs” probably does not show the whole market. Someone wanting to work in cyber security in North Queensland should also watch for titles and terms such as:
- Security Engineer, ICT Security or Information Security
- Identity and Access Management or IAM
- Endpoint, Systems, Infrastructure, Network or Cloud Engineer
- Governance, Risk and Compliance or GRC
- Technology Risk or Digital Security
- ICT Manager or technology leadership
The security responsibility may be buried in the position description rather than placed in the title.
The regional career path looks different
There are clearly cyber security careers available without leaving North Queensland, but the market does not look like a smaller copy of Sydney or Brisbane.
There are fewer dedicated positions. Many of the strongest opportunities favour people who already understand enterprise IT and can apply security principles to identity, networks, endpoints, cloud platforms, governance or critical infrastructure.
For someone starting their career, that may mean getting broad IT experience first rather than waiting indefinitely for a role titled Junior Cyber Security Analyst. For an experienced systems administrator, network engineer, ICT manager or cloud professional, on the other hand, North Queensland’s developing cyber market could provide a very realistic pathway into specialisation.
And as regional organisations continue to mature their security programs, I will be interested to see whether more dedicated positions begin to appear.
About this research
I compiled this article in August 2026 from publicly accessible employer advertisements and archived or search-indexed listings covering parts of 2025 and 2026. I also follow job listings regularly — not because I’m looking for a new role, but because I like providing support and advice to people in the IT industry who may be starting out or looking to advance their careers.
It is not a complete census of North Queensland cyber security employment. Expired advertisements disappear, some positions are repeated across agencies, and job-board keyword searches produce unrelated results. The roles above are examples of notable and representative advertisements, not a ranking or definitive vacancy count.
I plan to keep tracking cyber and cyber-adjacent vacancies across Townsville, Cairns, Mackay and the broader region. Over time, that should give us a clearer picture of the skills employers seek, what regional roles pay and how the market is changing.