The SMB1001 certification standard is one of the most practical and well-aligned cybersecurity governance frameworks available to the Australian small and medium business sector.

It’s designed to support organisations with 20 or fewer staff or less than $10 million in turnover. And within that scope, it performs exceptionally well – providing a clear, structured benchmark from which a business can start building a fit-for-purpose cybersecurity posture.

But it’s important to understand where SMB1001 fits, and just as importantly, where it stops fitting.

A Starting Point – Not the Finish Line

SMB1001 is best viewed as a foundation, not a final destination. Achieving certification at the Gold level or above puts a business in a position that is, quite simply, “good enough” to operate with baseline confidence. It formalises governance, clarifies responsibilities, and embeds critical policies – all of which are essential in today’s environment.

But it is not where cybersecurity maturity ends. Once certified, businesses should make risk-informed decisions about where to go next, based on their industry, client expectations, regulatory exposure, and threat environment.

Sizing Guidelines Based on Real-World Practice

From direct experience implementing this standard across sectors, the following sizing guidance reflects how it plays out in practice:

  • Ideal fit: Organisations with ≤20 staff or <$10M turnover
    This is the sweet spot. The standard maps closely to operational realities and delivers significant uplift in a short timeframe.

  • Acceptable fit: Up to ~35 staff
    In this range, SMB1001 is still useful – but there are caveats. Organisations will need to supplement the framework with additional controls or maturity models, particularly in areas like vendor oversight, internal audit, or role separation.

  • Outgrowing fit: 35–50+ staff or >$10M turnover
    At this point, the business risk and threat profile shifts. Organisations require more mature frameworks – such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST CSF, or CMMC – that accommodate broader stakeholder demands, increased complexity, and deeper integration across departments and subsidiaries.

Beyond the Standard: Strategic Considerations

Once an organisation begins to grow past that 35–50 staff threshold, it’s not just about ticking compliance boxes. It’s about governance maturity, third-party assurance, and long-term defensibility. These organisations typically need:

  • Greater role separation and access governance

  • Defined security architecture and risk registers

  • Internal audit or compliance functions

  • Multi-stakeholder incident response processes

  • Regulatory alignment (e.g. Privacy Act, SOCI, DISP, ISO obligations)

That’s where frameworks like ISO 27001 and SOC 2 step in – and where SMB1001, while still a valuable base, no longer scales appropriately on its own.

A Consultant’s Perspective

As a specialist cybersecurity consultancy focused on governance, risk, and compliance, we’ve advised clients across all sectors and sizes. Based on that experience – and as the first and only firm in Australia to hold SMB1001 Diamond certification – our recommendation is clear:

SMB1001 is exceptional for small business. But past a certain scale, it’s no longer sufficient.

Cybersecurity is contextual. No single framework fits every organisation. And choosing the right one is as much a business decision as it is a compliance requirement.

In Closing

If you’re a small to mid-sized Australian business looking to improve your cybersecurity maturity, SMB1001 Gold is the right place to start. But as your business grows – in size, complexity, and exposure – your framework must grow with it.

If you’re unsure where your organisation sits – or whether SMB1001 is still fit for purpose – we’re happy to help. As a firm specialising in standards, systems, and strategy, Aegis Cybersecurity provides honest, vendor-neutral advice on what’s right for your business at its current stage – and what will support you into the next.