In 2023, Australia launched a five-year healthcare plan called the National Digital Health Strategy (NDHS). The goal is to deliver faster, safer, and more accessible care through digital-first services like telehealth, electronic prescriptions, and patient record platforms.
Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) are developing the technology behind this shift from clinical tools to patient-facing apps. But deploying healthcare applications at scale requires more than a good product. It calls for secure, reliable, cloud infrastructure compliant with Australia’s strict data privacy laws.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) gives ISVs the foundation to build and deploy digital healthcare solutions. Its local infrastructure, built-in encryption tools, and access controls help healthcare organisations meet NDHS targets without compromising security or patient trust.
Here’s how AWS supports healthcare ISVs, and how the team at WOLK helps organisations migrate successfully.
Healthcare Compliance Challenges
Healthcare providers and their software partners must comply with multiple privacy and data handling laws, including the Privacy Act 1988, the My Health Records Act, and state-specific frameworks like Victoria’s Health Records Act. These laws set clear expectations around data residency, security, and accountability:
- Data sovereignty. Patient data—whether active or archived—must always remain within national borders.
- Security needs. The law mandates reasonable steps to secure personal information. That includes end-to-end encryption, identity management, and protections against unauthorised access.
- Auditability and logging. Organisations must maintain logs that show who accessed patient data and when, ensuring transparency and control over sensitive information.
How Amazon Web Services Fits In
AWS offers the tools and cloud-based infrastructure needed to deploy healthcare software securely and at scale. ISVs building digital health products benefit from:
- Local data centres. Data centres in the Asia Pacific Region, including Sydney (ap-southeast-2) and Melbourne (ap-southeast-4), allow organisations to meet data sovereignty obligations without workarounds or third-party storage.
- Easy access control. AWS Identity Access and Management (IAM) helps restrict data access to specific personnel, so nurses, doctors, and administrative teams only see what they need.
- Strong data encryption. With AWS Key Management Service (KMS), ISVs can protect sensitive data using high-strength encryption protocols like AES-256-GCM and RSA 4096.
- Detailed access logs. AWS CloudTrail generates real-time records of data access and configuration changes, helping organisations demonstrate compliance and respond quickly to incidents.
- Faster, consistent deployment. ISVs can automate software releases using AWS tools like CodePipeline, Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS), and CloudFormation. This allows for quicker updates, consistent performance, and fewer risks during rollouts.
Migrate to a Secure and Compliant IT Infrastructure With WOLK
Digital health providers and ISVs need infrastructure that keeps up with industry innovations and regulations. AWS delivers that environment, and WOLK helps make the transition straightforward.
WOLK’s AWS team supports healthcare clients through every step of cloud migration, from initial planning and security setup to full deployment. Whether launching a new application or moving legacy systems to the cloud, we help you build a secure, compliant foundation tailored to Australian healthcare.
Explore what’s possible with secure cloud infrastructure. Reach out to WOLK to start your AWS migration and meet your NDHS goals.