Australian Security Intelligence Organisation

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Distinguish {{SAFESUBST:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{#switch: |Category= |Template= }}Template:Mbox{{#switch: ||Talk=Template:DMC |User|User talk= |#default={{#if:||Template:DMC}}}}Template:Merge partner }} Template:Coord Template:Infobox government agency Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO Template:IPAc-en) is the domestic intelligence and national security agency of the Australian Government, responsible for protection from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated violence, terrorism and attacks on the national defence system.<ref name="asio act">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ASIO is a primary entity of the Australian Intelligence Community.

ASIO has a wide range of surveillance powers to collect human and signals intelligence. Generally, ASIO operations requiring police powers of arrest and detention under warrant are co-ordinated with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and/or with state and territory police forces.<ref name="FAQ"> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The organisation is comparable to that of the United States' FBI or the British MI5.<ref name="FAQ" />

ASIO Central Office is in Canberra, with a local office being located in each mainland state and territory capital.<ref name="contact">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A new $630 million Central Office named after Ben Chifley, the prime minister who created the organisation, was officially opened by then-prime minister Kevin Rudd on 23 July 2013.<ref name=newoffice>Template:Cite news</ref>

Command, control and organisation

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ASIO's New Central Office building in the Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra

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The ASIO's old Central Office

ASIO is established and regulated under Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (Cwth), responsible to the federal parliament through the Attorney-General. ASIO also reports to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee and is subject to independent review by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. The head of ASIO is the Director-General of Security, who oversees the strategic management of ASIO within guidelines issued by the Attorney-General. The current Director-General of Security is Mike Burgess, who assumed office on 16 September 2019.<ref name="burgess">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2018, ASIO had an average of 1,980 staff.<ref name="AR2018" /> Changes since to security measures have meant that the specific headcount is classified and not publicly available.<ref name="AR2024" /> The identity of ASIO officers other than the director-general and deputy director-generals remains an official secret.<ref name="asio act" /> While ASIO is an equal opportunity employer, there has been some media comment of its apparent difficulty in attracting people from a Muslim or Middle Eastern background.<ref name="employment">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Furthermore, ASIO has undergone a period of rapid growth with some 70% of its officers having joined since 2002, leading to what Paul O'Sullivan, director-general from 2005 to 2009, called 'an experience gap'.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Powers and accountability

Special investigative powers

The special investigative powers available to ASIO officers under warrant signed by the attorney-general include:<ref name="asio act" />

• Interception of telecommunications,
• Examination of postal and delivery articles,
• Use of clandestine surveillance and tracking devices,
• Remote access to computers, including alteration of data to conceal that access,
• Covert entry to and search of premises, including the removal or copying of any record or thing found therein, and
• Conduct of an ordinary or frisk search of a person if they are at or near a premises specified in the warrant.

The director-general also has the power to independently issue a warrant should a serious security situation arise and a warrant requested of the attorney-general has not yet been granted.<ref name="asio act" />

An ASIO officer may, without warrant, ask an operator of an aircraft or vessel questions about the aircraft or vessel, its cargo, crew, passengers, stores or voyage; and to produce supporting documents relating to these questions.<ref name="asio act" />

Special terrorism investigative powers

When investigating terrorism, the director-general may seek a warrant from an independent judicial authority to allow:<ref name="asio act" />

• The compulsory questioning of suspects,
• The detention of suspects by the AFP, and their subsequent interrogation by ASIO officers,
• Ordinary, frisk or strip search of suspects by AFP officers upon their detainment,
• The seizure of passports, and
• The prevention of suspects leaving Australia.

Immunity from prosecution

The Act does not specifically state the types of crimes that ASIO officers receive immunity from, rather stating the exceptions in which an officer would not be indemnified by the Commonwealth. Section 35k (1)<ref name="asio act" /> defines these activities as not being immune from liability for special intelligence conduct during special intelligence operations. An ASIO officer would be deemed to have committed a crime if they were to participate in any of the following activities under any circumstances:

• An activity that causes death or serious injury,
• Torture,
• If the activity involves the commission of a sexual offence against any person, or
• If the activity causes significant loss of, or serious damage to property.

Collection of foreign intelligence

ASIO's authority relates exclusively to domestic intelligence and intervention, however ASIO may take part in domestic intelligence gathering relating to a foreign threat alongside the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, Australian Signals Directorate and Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation. ASIO has the power to collect foreign intelligence within Australia on the issuance of a warrant by the Attorney-General.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Accountability

Because of the nature of its work, ASIO does not make details of its activities public and law prevents the identities of ASIO officers from being disclosed. ASIO and the Australian Government say that operational measures ensuring the legality of ASIO operations have been established.

ASIO briefs the attorney-general on all major issues affecting security and they are also informed of operations when considering granting warrants enabling the special investigative powers of ASIO. Furthermore, the attorney-general issues guidelines with respect to the conduct of ASIO investigations relating to politically motivated violence and its functions of obtaining intelligence relevant to security.<ref name="asio act" />

ASIO reports to several governmental and parliamentary committees dealing with security, legislative and financial matters. This includes the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and the Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee.<ref name="ISA act">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A classified annual report is provided to the government, an unclassified edited version of which is tabled in federal parliament.<ref name="annual report 2008-2009">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security was established in 1986 to provide additional oversight of Australia’s security and intelligence agencies. The inspector-general has complete access to all ASIO records and has a range of inquisitorial powers.

Relationships with foreign agencies and services

Australia’s intelligence and security agencies maintain close working relationships with the foreign and domestic intelligence and security agencies of other nations. As of 22 October 2008, ASIO has established liaison relationships with 311 authorities in 120 countries.<ref name="annual report 2008-2009" />

History

Pre-ASIO

The Australian Government assumed responsibility for national security and intelligence on federation in 1901, and took over various state agencies and had to rationalise their functions.Template:Citation required There was considerable overlap between the civil and military authorities. Similarly, there was also no Commonwealth agency responsible for enforcing federal laws. At the outbreak of World War I, no Australian government agency was dedicated to security, intelligence or law enforcement.<ref name=naa >National Archives of Australia, Records of Australia's security, intelligence and law enforcement File:CC-BY icon.svg This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence.</ref> The organisation of security intelligence in Australia took on more urgency with a perceived threat posed by agents provocateurs, fifth columnists and saboteurs within Australia.

In 1915, the British government arranged for the establishment of a Commonwealth branch of the Imperial Counter Espionage Bureau in Australia. The branch came to be known as the Australian Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) in January 1916, and maintained a close relationship with state police forces, and later with the Commonwealth Police Force, created in 1917, to conduct investigations independent of state police forces. After the war, on 1 November 1919, the SIB and Commonwealth Police were merged to form the Investigation Branch within the Attorney General's Department.<ref name=naa />

Provoked by World War II, the Commonwealth Security Service was formed in 1941 to investigate organisations and individuals considered likely to be subversive or actively opposed to national interests; to investigate espionage and sabotage; to vet defence force personnel and workers in defence-related industries; to control the issue of passports and visas; and was responsible for the security of airports and wharves, and factories engaged in manufacture of munitions and other items necessary for Australia’s war effort. It was also responsible for radio security. In June 1945 it produced a report warning of the danger of the Communist Party of Australia.<ref name=ADB>Horner, Jolyon, Simpson, William Ballantyne (1896 - 1966) Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 2011-10-08</ref>

Robert Frederick Bird Wake, one of the foundation directors of ASIO, is credited the creation of the Australian intelligence community in 1949, as claimed by Valdemar Wake, in his biography No Ribbons or Medals of his father's work as a counter espionage officer.<ref name="Valdemar/Hereward">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="austlit/C524531">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="authorsden/30207">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Wake worked closely with Director-General Reed. During World War II, Reed conducted an inquiry into Wake's performance as a security officer and found that he was competent and innocent of the charges laid by the Army's commander-in-chief, General Thomas Blamey.Template:Citation required This was the start of a relationship between Reed and Wake that lasted for more than 10 years. Wake was seen as the operational head of ASIO.

Establishment and 'The Case'

Following the end of World War II, the joint United States-UK Venona project uncovered sensitive British and Australian government data being transmitted through Soviet diplomatic channels. Officers from MI5 were dispatched to Australia to assist local investigations. The leak was eventually tracked to a spy ring operating from the Soviet Embassy in Canberra. Allied Western governments expressed disaffection with the state of security in Australia.<ref name="manne">Manne, Robert. The Petrov Affair. Pergamon Press, Sydney, 1987. Template:ISBN.</ref>

On 9 March 1949, Prime Minister Ben Chifley created the post of Director-General of Security and appointed South Australian Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Reed to the post. On 16 March 1949, Chifley issued a Directive for the Establishment and Maintenance of a Security Service.<ref name="NAA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Security Service's first authorised telephone interceptions were in June 1949, followed in July by a raid on the Sydney office of the Communist Party of Australia. In August 1949, Reed advised the Prime Minister that he had decided to name the service the 'Australian Security Intelligence Organization' Template:Sic.

The new service was to be modelled on the Security Service of the United Kingdom MI5 and an MI5 liaison team (including Sir Roger Hollis) was attached to the fledgling ASIO during the early 1950s. Historian Robert Manne describes this early relationship as "special, almost filial" and continues "ASIO's trust in the British counter-intelligence service appears to have been near-perfect".<ref name="manne" />

The Labor Government was defeated at the December 1949 federal election, and in March 1950 the new prime minister, Robert Menzies, appointed the Deputy Director of Military Intelligence, Charles Spry, as the second Director-General of Security, commencing on 9 July 1950. Wake resigned shortly after Spry's appointment. On 6 July 1950, a Directive of Prime Minister Menzies set out the Charter of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, which expanded on Chifley's 1949 Directive. ASIO was converted to a statutory body on 13 December 1956 by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1956 (later repealed by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979, the current legislation as amended to 2007). Spry would continue to hold the post until January 1970. The spelling of the organisation was amended by legislation in 1999 to bring it into line with the Australian standard form 'organisation'.

The operation to crack the Soviet spy ring in Canberra consumed much of the resources of ASIO during the 1950s. This operation became internally known as "The Case".<ref name="significant events">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Among the prime suspects of the investigations were Wally Clayton, a prominent member of the Australian Communist Party,<ref name="smh-in-from-cold-clayton">Template:Cite news</ref> and two diplomats with the Department of External Affairs, Jim Hill and Ian Milner. However, no charges resulted from the investigations, because Australia did not have any laws against peacetime espionage at the time.Template:Citation needed

The Petrov Affair

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5 February 1951 saw the arrival in Sydney of Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov, Third Secretary of the Soviet Embassy. An ASIO field officer identified Petrov as a possible 'legal', an agent of the Soviet Ministry of State Security (MGB, a forerunner to the KGB) operating under diplomatic immunity. The Organisation began gently cultivating Petrov through another agent, Dr. Michael Bialoguski, with the eventual goal of orchestrating his defection. Ultimately, Petrov was accused by the Soviet Ambassador of several lapses in judgement that would have led to his imprisonment and probable execution upon his return to the Soviet Union. Petrov feared for his life and accepted the defection life-line provided by ASIO.

The actual defection occurred on 3 April 1954. Petrov was spirited to a safe house by ASIO officers, but his disappearance and the seeming reluctance of Australian authorities to search for him made the Soviets increasingly suspicious. Fearing a defection by Petrov, MVD officers dramatically escorted his wife Evdokia to a waiting aeroplane in Sydney. There was doubt as to whether she was leaving by choice or through coercion and so Australian authorities initially did not act to prevent her being bundled into the plane. However, ASIO was in communication with the pilot and learned through relayed conversations with a flight attendant that if Evdokia spoke to her husband she might consider seeking asylum in Australia.

An opportunity to allow her to speak with her husband came when the Director-General of Security, Charles Spry, was informed that the MVD agents had broken Australian law by carrying firearms on an airliner in Australian airspace and so could be detained. When the aeroplane landed in Darwin for refuelling, the Soviet party and other passengers were asked to leave the plane. Police, acting on ASIO orders, quickly disarmed and restrained the two MVD officers and Evdokia was taken into the terminal to speak to her husband via telephone. After speaking to him, she became convinced he was alive and speaking freely and asked the Administrator of the Northern Territory for political asylum.

The affair sparked controversy in Australia when circumstantial links were noted between the leader of the Australian Labor Party and the Communist Party of Australia (and hence to the Soviet spy ring). H.V. Evatt, the leader of the Labor Party at the time, accused Prime Minister Robert Menzies of arranging the Petrov defection to discredit him. The accusations lead to a disastrous split in the Labor party.<ref name="manne" />

Petrov was able to provide information on the structure of the Soviet intelligence apparatus in the mid-1950s, information that was highly valuable to the United States. It was by obtaining this information that the Organisation's reputation in the eyes of the United States was greatly enhanced.<ref name="manne" />

In fact, when Brigadier Spry retired, the Deputy Director of the CIA sent the following tribute:

The relationship between the CIA and ASIO started as a very personal one. The real substantive relationship started with Sir Charles' visit in 1955... Since Sir Charles' first visit, the relationships with ASIO have continued to become closer and closer until today we have no secrets, regardless of classification or sensitivity, that are not made available to ASIO if it is pertinent to Australia’s internal security... I feel, as does the Director, a type of mutual trust in dealing with ASIO that is exceeded by no other service in the world today.<ref name="manne" />

The Cold War

ASIO's counter-intelligence successes continued throughout the Cold War. Following an elaborate investigation between 1961 and 1963, ASIO recommended the ejection of the First Secretary of the Soviet Embassy, Ivan Skripov, and his declaration as persona non-grata. Skripov had been refining Kay Marshall,<ref name="theaustralian/Blundell/Butt">Template:Cite news</ref> an English-Australian woman<ref name="thewest/b881629087z">Template:Cite news</ref> as an agent for Soviet intelligence; however, she was in fact an agent of ASIO.

In April 1983, ASIO uncovered more Soviet attempts at espionage and Valery Ivanov, who also held the post of First Secretary at the Soviet Embassy, was declared persona non-grata. He was ejected from Australia on the grounds that he had performed duties in violation of his diplomatic status.

Penetration by the KGB

These successes were marred, however, by the penetration of ASIO by a KGB mole in the 1970s.<ref name="asio mole">ASIO mole sold secrets to KGB Template:Webarchive, ABC News Online, 2 November 2004</ref> Due to the close defence and intelligence ties between Australia and the United States, ASIO became a backdoor to American intelligence. Upon realising ASIO was compromised, the United States pulled back on the information it shared with Australia.<ref name="backdoor">ASIO targeted as back door to US intelligence, PM (ABC Radio National), 1 November 2004</ref>

Following a strenuous internal audit and a joint Federal Police investigation, George Sadil was accused of being the mole. Sadil had been a Russian interpreter with ASIO for some 25 years and highly classified documents were discovered in his place of residence. Federal Police arrested Sadil in June 1993 and charged him under the Crimes Act 1914 with several espionage and official secrets related offences. However, parts of the case against him collapsed the following year.

Sadil was committed to trial in March 1994, but the Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to proceed with the more serious espionage-related charges after reviewing the evidence against him. Sadil's profile did not match that of the mole and investigators were unable to establish any kind of money trail between him and the KGB.

Sadil pleaded guilty in December 1994 to thirteen charges of removing ASIO documents contrary to his duty, and was sentenced to three months imprisonment. He was subsequently released on a 12-month good behaviour bond. It is believed that another ASIO officer, now retired, is suspected of being the mole but no prosecution attempts have been made.

In November 2004, former KGB Major-General Oleg Kalugin confirmed to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners programme that the KGB had in fact infiltrated ASIO in the late 1970s and early 1980s.<ref>ASIO Four Corners episode Trust And Betrayal Template:Webarchive 02/11/2004</ref>

ASIO acknowledged in October 2016 that it had been infiltrated.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2023, the mole was identified as Ian George Peacock.<ref name="abc-fc-nc-23">Template:Cite news</ref> Peacock's code name within the KGB was "Mira".<ref name="abc-fc-nc-23"/>

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

ASIO began planning for the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, held in Sydney, as early as 1995.<ref name="significant events" /> A specific Olympics Coordination Branch was created in 1997, and began recruiting staff with "specialised skills" the following year. In 1998, ASIO "strengthened information collection and analytical systems, monitored changes in the security environment more broadly, improved its communications technology and provided other agencies with strategic security intelligence assessments to assist their Olympics security planning".Template:Cn

The Olympics Coordination Branch also began planning for the Federal Olympic Security Intelligence Centre (FOSIC) in 1998. FOSIC was to "provide security intelligence advice and threat assessments to State and Commonwealth authorities during the Sydney 2000 Games".Template:Cn

Surveillance of anti-coal activists

In 2012 it was reported that ASIO had been monitoring the actions of Australians protesting against the coal industry, and was increasing its efforts from previous years. Minister Martin Ferguson said that he was particularly concerned about protests relating to the Hazelwood power station in Victoria. An unnamed security source told The Age newspaper that "providing advice and intelligence to safeguard [critical infrastructure] is clearly within ASIO's responsibilities... ASIO has a clear role, including protection against sabotage. And it's clear [environmental] activists pose a greater threat to energy facilities than terrorists." A spokesperson for Attorney General Nicola Roxon described ASIO's responsibility in monitoring political action groups as "limited to activity that is, or has the potential to be, violent for the purposes of achieving a political objective".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Australian Greens party leader Bob Brown described ASIO monitoring environmentalists as a "political weapon" used by the Government for the benefit of "foreign-owned mining corporations".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Chinese intelligence activity

Nicola Roxon, the Attorney-General of Australia, blocked Chinese, state-owned company Huawei from seeking a supply contract for the National Broadband Network, on the advice of the ASIO.<ref>Template:Cite news </ref> The Australian government feared Huawei would provide backdoor access for Chinese cyber espionage.<ref> Template:Cite news</ref>

In May 2013, ABC News claimed that China stole blueprints to the headquarters of the ASIO.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Sheri Yan and Roger Uren were investigated by ASIO on suspicion of spying for China.<ref name="ASIO">Template:Cite news</ref> Uren, former Assistant Secretary responsible for the Asia section of the Office of National Assessments, was found to have removed documents pertaining to Chinese intelligence operations in Australia, and kept them in his apartment.<ref name="ASIO"/> Yan was suspected of undertaking influence operations on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, and introducing Colonel Liu Chaoying, a military intelligence officer, to Australian contacts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ASIO"/><ref name="AAP">Template:Cite news</ref>

Expansion of powers, 2020

In 2020, Peter Dutton, then Minister for Home Affairs, introduced the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2020, which expanded ASIO's questioning powers to cover espionage, foreign interference, and political violence, while the age which ASIO can compulsively question minors has been reduced to 14 from 16. Furthermore, ASIO can authorize the usage of tracking devices without warrants.<ref>New powers for ASIO to question 14-year-olds and go after foreign spies Anthony Galloway, May 13, 2020. The Sydney Morning Herald</ref> The Law Council of Australia criticized the bill and compared it to the 2020 Hong Kong national security law, due to its expansion of questioning powers to cover political violence, which the LCA argued could be used against acts of lawful protest, a claim that ASIO head Mike Burgess rejected.<ref>'Beyond the pale': ASIO boss rejects comparisons with HK security law Anthony Galloway, July 10, 2020. The Sydney Morning Herald</ref>

Royal commissions, inquiries and reviews

Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security, 1974–77

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} On 21 August 1974, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam announced the establishment of the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security to inquire into Australia's intelligence agencies.<ref name="significant events" /> Justice Robert Hope of the Supreme Court of New South Wales was appointed as Royal Commissioner. In 1977 the First Hope Commission made many findings about, and recommendations on, ASIO in the Fourth Report, some of which had been preempted by the Whitlam and Fraser governments. The commission marked the first review of the organisation and was fundamental to securing it as part of Australia's state defensive apparatus. In a secret supplementary report, much of which remains classified, Hope indicated his belief that ASIO's past conduct was the result of its infiltration by a hostile foreign intelligence agency. In a 1998 interview Hope stated that saw some of his major recommendations as having been wrong.Template:Citation needed

The Commission found that ASIO provided the CIA with information about prominent Australian politicians and government officials. The information included accusations of subversive activities and details of private lives.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Protective Security Review, 1978–79

Following the Sydney Hilton bombing in 1978, the government commissioned Justice Hope with conducting a review into national protective security arrangements and into co-operation between Federal and State authorities in regards to security. In the report concluded in 1979, Justice Hope designated ASIO as the agency responsible for national threat assessments in terrorism and politically motivated violence.<ref name="significant events" /> He also recommended that relations between ASIO and State and Territory police forces be regulated by arrangements between governments.

Royal Commission on Australian Security and Intelligence Agencies, 1983–84

Following the publicity surrounding the expulsion of Valery Ivanov, First Secretary at the Soviet Embassy in Canberra, the Government established a Royal Commission to review the activities of Australian security and intelligence agencies.<ref name="significant events" /> Justice Hope was again Royal Commissioner.

Justice Hope completed his report in December 1984. His recommendations included that:

• The security related activities which ASIO should investigate be redefined. References to subversion and terrorism be removed and replaced with politically motivated violence, attacks on Australia's defence system and promoting communal violence;
• ASIO be given additional functions of collecting foreign intelligence and providing protective security advice; and that
• A separate office of Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security be established.

Justice Hope also recommended that amendments to the ASIO Act provide that "it is not the purpose of the Act that the right of lawful advocacy, protest or dissent should be affected or that exercising those rights should, by themselves, constitute activity prejudicial to security".

Post-Cold War review, 1992

In early 1992, Prime Minister Paul Keating commissioned a review "of the overall impact of changes in international circumstances on the roles and priorities of the Australian intelligence agencies". In his statement of 21 July 1992, Keating said:

Consistent with the philosophy of a separation of the assessment, policy and foreign intelligence collection functions, the Government considers that the existing roles of the individual agencies remain valid in the 1990s. The rationale outlined by Mr Justice Hope for ASIO as a freestanding, non-executive, advisory intelligence security agency remains relevant in the 1990s and the Government has therefore decided that ASIO should continue to have the roles and responsibilities laid down in existing legislation.

The Soviet threat certainly formed an important component of ASIO's activities, but threats from other sources of foreign interference and politically motivated violence have been important to ASIO for some time, and will remain so. However, the implications for ASIO of the changes in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are more far-reaching than for the other agencies. The Government has therefore decided that while ASIO's capacity to meet its responsibilities must be maintained, there is scope for resource reductions.<ref name="significant events" />

The resource reductions mentioned were a cut of 60 staff and a $3.81 million budget decrease.

Inquiry into National Security, 1993

Following the trial of George Sadil over the ASIO mole scandal and from concern about the implications of material having been removed from ASIO without authority, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Mr Michael Cook AO (former head of the Office of National Assessments) to inquire into various aspects of national security. The review was completed in 1994.<ref name="significant events" />

Parliamentary Joint Committee inquiries

The Parliamentary Joint Committee completed several reviews and inquiries into ASIO during the 1990s.<ref name="significant events" /> The first concerned the security assessment process. Another was held in September into "the nature, scope and appropriateness of the way in which ASIO reports to the Australian public on its activities". The Committee concluded that "the total package of information available to the Australian community about ASIO's operations exceeds that available to citizens in other countries about their domestic intelligence agencies." Pursuant to this, recommendations were made regarding the ASIO website and other publicly accessible information.

Transfer to Home Affairs

In July 2018, then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the creation of the Department of Home Affairs - a new ministry to include the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Border Force, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. This meant the transfer of ASIO away from the Attorney-General's Department, although the Attorney-General would remain responsible for approving ASIO warrants.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This move was somewhat criticised, with John Blaxland from the Australian National University warning against tampering with a system that was "arguably the envy of the world", saying "I have yet to see any compelling evidence that what we have is not working, or that there is a compellingly better option out there."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In July 2024, it was reported that ASIO was to be moved back to its original setting within the Attorney-General's Department. Under the new arrangement, the Department of Home Affairs retains responsibility for national security policy, its design and implementation, while operational control of ASIO shifts back to the Attorney-General's Department.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Criticisms and controversies

Infiltration by Soviet spies

From the earliest years of ASIO's existence, possibly from its inception, the organization has been infiltrated by Soviet spies. This was admitted by ASIO beginning in 2016,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> though other sources had made earlier allegations that Soviet spies had deeply infiltrated ASIO at nearly all levels of intelligence and operations.

Raids on ASIO Central Office, 1973

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{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Accusations against ASIO were raised by the Attorney-General following a series of bombings from 1963 to 1970 on the consulate of Communist Yugoslavia in Australia by Croatian far-right militia. Attorney-General Lionel Murphy alleged that ASIO had withheld information on the group which could have led to preventative measures taken against further bomb attacks (however, Murphy was a member of the recently sworn-in Labor government, which still held a deep-seated suspicion of ASIO).

On 15 March 1973, Murphy and the Commonwealth Police raided the ASIO offices in Melbourne. While some claim the raid was disastrous, serving little purpose other than to shake-up both ASIO and the Whitlam government, the findings of such investigations were not published.

The Sydney Hilton bombing allegations of conspiracy, 1978

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} On 13 February 1978, the Sydney Hilton Hotel was bombed, one of the few domestic terrorist incidents on Australian soil. The Hotel was the location for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Three people in the street were killed – two council workers and a policeman – and several others injured. Former police officer Terry Griffiths, who was injured in the explosion, provided some evidence that suggested ASIO might have orchestrated the bombing or been aware of the possibility and allowed it to proceed. In 1985, the Director-General of Security issued a specific denial of the allegation. In 1991 the New South Wales parliament unanimously called for a joint State-Federal inquiry into the bombing.<ref name="Hansard91"> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} (First motion for an enquiry)</ref> However, the Federal government vetoed any inquiry.

Anti-terrorism bungle, 2001

A few weeks after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, mistakes led ASIO to incorrectly raid the home of Bilal Daye and his wife. It has been revealed that the search warrant was for a different address. The couple subsequently sought damages and the embarrassing incident was settled out of court in late 2005, with all material relating to the case being declared strictly confidential.<ref>Couple wins payout over ASIO, AFP raid Template:Webarchive, ABC News Online, 1 November 2005</ref>

Kim Beazley-Ratih Hardjono investigation, 2004

File:Ratih, Bruce and Gareth.jpg

Bruce Grant, Ratih Hardjono, and Gareth Evans<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In June 2004, Kim Beazley<ref name=Toohey>Toohey, Brian (7 July 2002) Security proves a complicated affair., Sydney Morning Herald.</ref> was accused of having a "special relationship" with Ratih Hardjono<ref name=Sim>Sim, Susan (19 February 2000). All the President's whisperers, Straits Times (Singapore).</ref> when he was defence minister.<ref>AAP (30 June 2004) Spy claims Beazley a 'security risk', The Age.</ref> Hardjono was allegedly accused of "inappropriately" photographing a secure Australian Defence facility, working with the embassy ID, and having a close working relationship with her uncle, a senior officer in BAKIN (Indonesian Intelligence).<ref name=Toohey/> In July, journalist Greg Sheridan contacted the then head of ASIO, Dennis Richardson, and discussed a classified operational investigation.<ref>Sheridan, Greg (1 July 2004). Artificial intelligence, The Australian.</ref> Later in July members of the Attorney General's department were still investigating the original allegation, making Richardson's comments premature and inaccurate. The whole episode was a salient reminder to politicians in Canberra of the British experience of 'agents of influence' and honeypots. Ratih Hardjono was married to Bruce Grant in the 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Detention and removal of Scott Parkin, 2005

In September 2005, the visa of American citizen, Scott Parkin, was cancelled after Director-General of Security, Paul O'Sullivan, issued an adverse security assessment of the visiting peace activist. Parkin was detained in Melbourne and held in custody for five days before being escorted under guard to Los Angeles, where he was informed that he was required to pay the Australian Government A$11,700 for the cost of his detention and removal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Parkin challenged the adverse security assessment in the Federal Court in a joint civil action with two Iraqi refugees, Mohammed Sagar and Muhammad Faisal, who faced indefinite detention on the island of Nauru after also receiving adverse security assessments in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Prior to his removal, Parkin had given talks on the role of U.S. military contractor Halliburton in the Iraq war and led a small protest outside the Sydney headquarters of Halliburton subsidiary KBR. The Attorney-General at that time, Philip Ruddock, refused to explain the reasons for Parkin's removal,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> leading to speculation that ASIO had acted under pressure from the United States.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was denied by O'Sullivan before a Senate committee, where he gave evidence that ASIO based its assessment only on Parkin's activities in Australia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> O'Sullivan refused to answer questions before a later Senate committee hearing<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> after his legal counsel told the Federal Court that ASIO did not necessarily base its assessment solely on Parkin's activities in Australia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Kidnap and false imprisonment of Izhar ul-Haque, 2007

On 12 November 2007, the Supreme Court of New South Wales dismissed charges brought against a young medical student, Izhar ul-Haque.<ref name="ulHaque SMH">Template:Cite news</ref> ASIO and the Australian Federal Police had investigated ul-Haque for allegedly training with Lashkar-e-Toiba in Pakistan, a declared terrorist organisation under the Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002.<ref name="ulHaque SMH" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, the case against the medical student collapsed when it was revealed that ASIO officers had engaged in improper conduct during the investigation. Justice Michael Adams determined that because ul-Haque was falsely led to believe that he was legally compelled to comply with the ASIO officers, the conduct of at least one of the investigating ASIO officers constituted false imprisonment and kidnap at common law, and therefore key evidence against ul-Haque was inadmissible.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Archival material

Non-current ASIO files are stored at the National Archives of Australia, and can be released to the public under the Archives Act 1983 after 30 years, unless they fall into any of 16 exemption categories itemised in section 33 of the Archives Act.<ref name="Access fact sheet 10">Access to records under the Archives Act, fact sheet 10</ref>

See also

• Australian Federal Police (AFP)
• National Security Committee
• Australian Intelligence Community
  • Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS)
  • Australian Signals Directorate (ASD)
  • Office of National Assessments (ONA)
  • Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO)
  • Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO)
• Oversight bodies
  • Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS)
  • Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS)
• Relevant legislation
  • Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (ASIO Act)
  • Intelligence Services Act 2001 (ISA)
  • Intelligence Services Amendment Act 2004
• Overseas counterparts
  • Canada: Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)
  • China: Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS)
  • New Zealand: New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS)
  • UK: Security Service (MI5) and GCHQ
  • US: National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (NSB/FBI)
  • Russia: Federal Security Service (FSB)
  • Japan: Japanese National Police Agency and Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA)

Further reading

• Template:Cite bookTemplate:Isbn available from Digital Print, South Australia.
• McKnight, David. Australia's Spies and Their Secrets. Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1994. Template:ISBN.
• Fowler, Andrew: "Trust and Betrayal" (transcripts), Four Corners (ABC TV), 1 November 2004.

External links

• Website: ASIO Website
• PDF Document: Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (Commonwealth)
• PDF Document: Statement of Procedures – warrants issued under Division 3 of Part III of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979.
• {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}

• Open Australia Search: Parliamentary records mentioning ASIO.