Healthcare is Australia's most breached sector. AMA SA's response starts with a question rather than a product.
The peak body for South Australia's doctors has appointed managed technology provider efex as its exclusive partner in technology, cyber security and practice continuity, in a twelve-month agreement that begins with research rather than a product.
The timing is not incidental. Health service providers notified more data breaches than any other Australian sector in 2025, accounting for 225 of the 1,205 notifications made to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The Australian Signals Directorate found that malicious actors succeeded in 95 per cent of the healthcare and social assistance incidents its Cyber Security Centre responded to in 2024 to 2025, against close to 52 per cent across all sectors. Ransomware incidents against the sector doubled over the same period.
Understanding the reality for medical practices
What those figures do not show is how exposed any individual practice is. A general practice running an appointment system, patient records, secure messaging and billing carries much the same risk as a far larger organisation, and rarely has the same resources to assess it.
efex and AMA SA are starting their partnership by understanding the current situation and needs across South Australian medical practices. From 18 September, members will be invited to complete an anonymous survey on how their practices use technology, where it disrupts them, and how prepared they are for a cyber incident. The findings will be published jointly in 2027.
What the survey finds will decide what is designed and built for AMA SA members and practices across South Australia. Rather than assembling a set of resources in advance, efex will develop practical guides and tools around the issues members report, distributed through AMA SA's channels. Education sessions for practice owners and practice managers, covering the practical use of artificial intelligence and cyber resilience, will draw on the same findings. Members can already request a complimentary cyber security audit measured against the Essential Eight to understand their current risks and readiness for a cyber attack.
Healthcare is one of the company's focus sectors. efex has a team of technology specialists based in Adelaide who have worked with medical practices since 2006, and support more than 2,000 healthcare customers across Australia and New Zealand, spanning general practice, specialist rooms and diagnostic imaging.
Built around member needs
Nick Sheehan, Chief Executive Officer of efex, said the partnership was built to start with what practices experience.
“There is no shortage of people telling medical practices what technology to buy. There is a shortage of good information about what practices are dealing with and what they need. The survey comes first for that reason, and what we build afterwards will follow what it tells us, to ensure we deliver the maximum possible benefit to AMA SA members.”
Nick Sheehan Founder and CEO, efex
AMA SA Chief Executive Officer Simon Jones said the partnership addressed a growing demand from members.
"Our members are running businesses as well as caring for patients, and technology and cyber security have become increasingly difficult areas to manage. This partnership will give practices a clearer understanding of their risks and practical support shaped by what South Australian doctors and practice managers tell us they need."
Simon Jones CEO, AMA SA
The survey opens on 18 September. The joint findings will be published in 2027.
Media enquiries
Scott Kirkham, Chief Marketing Officer, efex
scott.kirkham@efex.com.au
About efex
efex is one of Australia's largest managed technology service providers, delivering enterprise-grade managed IT, cyber security and cloud services to more than 14,000 customers. More than 400 specialists work from 25 locations across the country, which means you get the capability of a national provider with the service of a local one, backed by a team of experts and a 24x7 security operations centre. Get in touch with our team on 1300 376 347 today.
