Skip to main content

Is grants.gov.au a Scam? Security Check Results - Australian Government Reviews

grants.gov.au favicon

Is grants.gov.au Safe? Security Analysis for Australian Government

Check if grants.gov.au is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

GovernmentAustraliaenterprise
JavaScriptNew Relic monitoringjQuery (implied by bundles)
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 4:38:05 AM
69
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

GrantConnect is the Australian Government's official grants information system, providing centralized publication of forecast and current grant opportunities as well as grant awards and decisions. The platform targets grant applicants and stakeholders seeking government funding opportunities. It operates as a government service platform facilitating access to grant information and application processes, positioning itself as the authoritative source for Australian Government grants. The website features consistent branding with Australian Government logos and a Creative Commons license, reinforcing its official status. Technically, the website employs standard web technologies including JavaScript and monitoring via New Relic. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization and accessibility features, with a moderate performance profile. While no specific CMS or hosting provider is identified, the site uses modern JavaScript monitoring and error tracking tools. The site structure and navigation are clear, supporting a positive user experience. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and includes CSRF tokens in login forms, indicating attention to secure data handling. However, explicit security headers and published security policies are absent, and no incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is found. The WHOIS data is unavailable due to privacy or query failure, but the use of a .gov.au domain and consistent official branding strongly support legitimacy. No WAF or blocking mechanisms are detected, and no vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data are apparent. Overall, GrantConnect presents a trustworthy and professional government service website with good content quality and technical implementation. To enhance security posture and privacy compliance, it is recommended to publish explicit privacy, cookie, and security policies, implement cookie consent mechanisms, and provide clear contact information for security incidents.

Detected Technologies

JavaScriptNew Relic monitoringjQuery (implied by bundles)

🧠AI Business Intelligence

Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

GrantConnect serves as a critical government platform for disseminating grant-related information to Australian citizens and organizations. Its market position as an official government portal provides a competitive advantage through trust and authority. The business model is service-oriented, focusing on information dissemination rather than revenue generation. The target customer segments include grant applicants, government agencies, and stakeholders involved in public funding. The platform's partnership ecosystem includes related government help sites. Growth indicators are not explicit but the platform's role is essential in government grant administration. Strategic observations highlight the importance of maintaining high trust and compliance standards given the sensitive nature of government funding information.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforcement and CSRF protection on forms. However, the absence of explicit security headers (such as CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options) and lack of published security or incident response policies indicate gaps in security best practices. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. The lack of cookie consent mechanisms and privacy policy links reduces privacy compliance. Incident response readiness and security culture indicators are not evident from the public content. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a government informational site but could be improved by adopting comprehensive security policies and transparency.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish explicit privacy, cookie, and security policies prominently on the website.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Australian Government

Description:

GrantConnect provides centralised publication of forecast and current Australian Government grant opportunities and grants awarded.

Key Services:
Publication of forecast grant opportunitiesPublication of current grant opportunitiesPublication of grant awards and decisionsUser registration and login for grant application managementHelp and information resources
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
JavaScriptNew Relic monitoringjQuery (implied by bundles)
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

basic

Security Assessment

Security Score:
75/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced (implied by domain and scripts loaded via https)
  • CSRF token present in login forms

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
New Relic
Tracking Level:minimal
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
New Relic
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

Design Quality:good
User Experience:good
Content Relevance:good
Navigation Clarity:good
Professionalism:good
Trustworthiness:high

Key Observations

1

Website is an official Australian Government grants information portal

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

75/100
Score

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

Missing Permissions-Policy header

MEDIUM

Controls browser features and APIs

Sensitive data may be cached

LOW

Cache-Control header should include "no-store" for sensitive pages

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

50/100
Score

No Privacy Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

No Cookie Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy0% confidence
Cookie Policy0% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

17/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

No security policy documentation found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management

No incident response procedures found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans

No business continuity planning found

MEDIUM

NIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity

No security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure

No NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

83/100
Score

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

SPF
Sender Policy Framework
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication
MX Records
Mail Exchange Records
BIMI
Brand Indicators
MTA-STS
Mail Transfer Agent Security
TLS-RPT
TLS Reporting
DNSSEC
DNS Security
SPF Details
Record:
v=spf1 ip4:52.65.61.45 ip4:52.62.174.45 ip4:52.64.79.255 include:amazonses.com -all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:-all
DMARC Details
Policy:quarantine
Aggregate Reports:aws_gc_dmarcreports@citadelgroup.com.au
MTA-STS Details
Mode:enforce
Max Age:0 days

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

67/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

OCSP Stapling Not Enabled

LOW

OCSP stapling improves performance and privacy

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

1 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Protocol Support

TLSv1.2TLSv1.3TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

75/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Domain Transfer Lock Not Enabled

MEDIUM

Domain can be transferred without authorization

Domain Registration Details

Protection Level
moderateDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:3.174.113.43, 3.174.113.19, 3.174.113.40, 3.174.113.83
Name Servers:
ns-1342.awsdns-39.org
ns-174.awsdns-21.com
ns-1975.awsdns-54.co.uk
ns-583.awsdns-08.net
MX Records:
10: inbound-smtp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
SOA:Serial: 1, TTL: 86400s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:118ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 ip4:52.65.61.45 ip4:52.62.174.45 ip4:52.64.79.255 include:amazonses.com -all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

100/100
Score

Good Network Security Posture

LOW

No unnecessary services detected on common risky ports

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website uses a standard web technology stack with JavaScript and monitoring via New Relic. The presence of CSRF tokens in forms indicates secure form handling practices. The site is mobile optimized and accessible, with a clear navigation structure. Performance is moderate, with room for optimization. No specific CMS or hosting provider is identified. The site could benefit from enhanced security headers and improved privacy compliance features. Technical debt appears low, but modernization opportunities include adopting more explicit security and privacy standards and improving SEO metadata completeness.
Analyze Another Website