Chinese telco posed security risk to 5G

Australia's 5G network could have faced security risks if Chinese telecommunications company Huawei was involved in the rollout, a cyber security agency says.

Australian Signals' Directorate chief Mike Burgess says high risk vendors were excluded from the project because a potential security threat anywhere in the network would threaten the entire system, Fairfax Media and the ABC reported on Tuesday.

The network would be linked to key infrastructure including driverless cars and water supply, and the federal government's decision in August to block Huawei was "not taken lightly", he said.