Using AI safely, productively and in compliance — for Defence APS staff & DISP-member contractors
Educational only — not legal or security advice. Reviewed June 2026. Confirm tool-specific rulings with your security advisor.
by Rupert Chesman
OFFICIAL information can be used with approved generative AI, subject to your entity's policy.
Never entered into public AI tools. No exceptions, no ‘just this once’.
The test: “Would I be content if this appeared in tomorrow's newspaper?”
The on-ramp: how AI works and is trained, prompt engineering, and the confidentiality boundary the whole course turns on.
Module 1
The policy stack, approved providers & sovereignty, shadow AI & case studies, prompt hygiene & vendor evaluation, adversarial risks, the industry context, and your checklist.
Modules 2–8
8 modules · 22 interactive lessons · exercises, case studies & a laminated checklist
Key takeaway: Understand what AI is and where your data goes — before any rules.
Key takeaway: Your two anchors: the PSPF Advisory 001-2025 and the Defence Policy Settings (March 2026).
Key takeaway: It's the provider's certification — not the model's brand — that decides what's allowed.
Key takeaway: The biggest risk is a well-meaning staffer quietly pasting work into a consumer tool.
Key takeaway: Roles not names, no identifying numbers, abstract capability — before you ever paste.
Key takeaway: A model can be hijacked by content it merely reads — keep a human in the loop.
Key takeaway: For industry, doing AI safely is now a DISP expectation, not a nice-to-have.
Key takeaway: Five checks, every time — and treat your knowledge as perishable.
March 2025: a former temporary contractor uploaded a spreadsheet — 10 columns by 12,000+ rows of personal and health data — into ChatGPT.
The closest analogue to the Defence-industry contractor risk — and exactly what this course prevents.
OFFICIAL: Sensitive or above? Stop — no public AI.
One of the 18, or a completed FOCI assessment?
Authorised under PSPF 0086–0088 by your Authorising Officer?
Run every prompt through these three gates. When any is unclear — ask your security advisor.
This course is educational, not legal or security advice. It's anchored to the PSPF Policy Advisory 001-2025 and the Defence Policy Settings for Responsible Use of AI (March 2026), and was reviewed in June 2026. Re-check the live documents whenever the policy stack, the ISM, or the approved-provider list changes — and always confirm tool-specific rulings with your own security advisor or ISO.
A 4-hour intensive for Defence APS teams and DISP-member contractors — in person or virtual.
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