Brisbane cyber teams battle their way to national grand final

Following standout performances at the Cyber Battle Australia 2026 bootcamps, the Brisbane-based teams will join the top 25 teams from across the country to compete in Melbourne.

The teams, made up of Certificate IV in Cyber Security (22603VIC) students, are Team CTF {NO_IDEA}, featuring Liam Kahr, Winnie Toh and Matt Lyon and Team CIM{Cyber}, featuring JD Dennis, Emma Bao and Jed Burn.

The Grand Final is the ultimate in-person Capture the Flag cyber security competition, where the top teams from across Australia compete in a fast-paced, six-hour cyber battle to solve complex digital security challenges for national recognition.

Delivered by the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre alongside education and industry partners, Cyber Battle Australia was created to help address the nation’s growing cyber security skills shortage by giving students hands-on experience in simulated real-world cyber environments.

The Capture the Flag event uses mission-based learning, where participants play and compete in rounds of cyber security exercises. Players apply their cyber skills to collect “flags” within a provided virtual IT environment using a world-class, NATO-awarded cyber range.

This event is designed by Estonian cyber companies CTF Tech and CyberExer, who also help design the annual NATO Locked Shields exercise.

More than 300 students from universities, VET providers and TAFEs across the country participated in the program, which began with intensive, hands-on bootcamps and Capture the Flag challenges designed to build practical, job-ready cyber security skills.

During the bootcamp phase, students trained on a NATO-recognised cyber range using real-world cyber tools and techniques while developing skills in Linux fundamentals, cryptography, network traffic analysis, web vulnerabilities and incident response.

The competition then moved to the qualifying round on Saturday 16 May, where teams competed in person at locations around the country in a four-hour Capture the Flag challenge.

Participants tackled live cyber challenges designed to test their technical capability, teamwork and problem-solving skills under pressure.

For the TAFE Queensland Brisbane students, the competition offered more than just technical training.

It provided an opportunity to strengthen communication, leadership and critical thinking skills while working collaboratively in high-pressure environments like those faced by cyber professionals every day.

The achievement highlights the growing strength of cyber security training at TAFE Queensland and the increasing demand for graduates with practical, job-ready experience.