The assessment is in the form of a supervised, open-book examination conducted at the conclusion of the training course. Participants may consult internet resources and are expected to use software tools to execute specific tasks on target machines to answer some of the examination questions.

To maintain the integrity of the assessment exam process, each participant's work must be original. Collusion with other participants is strictly forbidden. Any infringement of these conditions will result in the participant's disqualification from receiving the completion certificate and they will be ineligible to retake the assessment.

A minimum score of 80 per cent is required to pass the assessment exam. Participants achieving a score higher than 60 per cent may be offered an opportunity to re-take the assessment exam within a reasonable timeframe, without having to re-enrol in the training course.

Upon successful completion of the training course and the assessment exam, participants will be awarded the "Certificate of Completion of the ACSC Essential Eight Assessment Course".

The course is conducted in a suitable face-to-face instructional environment and includes a specially-designed lab environment. Each participant is provided with an adequately equipped workstation, complete with the necessary tools required by the course and the capacity to interact with other virtual machines on the same network. This environment is specifically designed to facilitate the operation of the requisite testing tools.

The SM TAFE team of qualified instructors deliver the course. They possess a minimum of a Certificate IV in Information Technology and have completed extensive professional development in Cyber Security. Each instructor has at least 5 years’ of industry and/or teaching experience in a related field and has successfully passed the assessment exam.