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61-586: 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 and/or with state and territory police forces. The organisation is comparable to that of the FBI ( US ) and MI5 ( UK ). ASIO Central Office is in Canberra , with

122-475: A Muslim or Middle Eastern background. 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 of Security from 2005 to 2009, called 'an experience gap'. The special investigative powers available to ASIO officers under warrant signed by the Attorney-General include: The Director-General also has

183-571: A local office being located in each mainland state and territory capital. A new $ 630 million Central Office, Ben Chifley Building, named after Ben Chifley , prime minister when ASIO was created, was officially opened by then prime minister Kevin Rudd on 23 July 2013. ASIO is the statutory body established and regulated under the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 , responsible to

244-504: A range of inquisitorial powers. 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. 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. There

305-579: A result of PJCIS reviews. They include the following: The committee carried the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment ( Assistance and Access ) Act 2018 through to legislation enabling security agencies to access otherwise encrypted communications by people who intend harm to Australians. Members of the committee expressed satisfaction on the bill becoming law, as it would enable security agencies to "surgically strike terrorists, spies, drug traffickers and paedophiles." Prompted by

366-818: Is intelligence-gathering by means of human sources and interpersonal communication . It is distinct from more technical intelligence-gathering disciplines, such as signals intelligence (SIGINT), imagery intelligence (IMINT), and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT). HUMINT can be conducted in a variety of ways, including via espionage , reconnaissance , interrogation , witness interviews, or torture . Although associated with military and intelligence agencies , HUMINT can also apply in various civilian sectors such as law enforcement . NATO defines HUMINT as "a category of intelligence derived from information collected and provided by human sources." A typical HUMINT activity consists of interrogations and conversations with persons having access to information. As

427-497: Is credited with getting "the show" started in 1949, as claimed by Valdemar Wake, in his biography No Ribbons or Medals of his father's work as a counter espionage officer. 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 . This

488-414: Is spotting and assessing a target. Surveillance of targets (e.g., military or other establishments, open source or compromised reference documents) sometimes reveals people with potential access to information, but no clear means of approaching them. With this group, a secondary survey is in order. Headquarters may be able to suggest an approach, perhaps through a third party or through resources not known to

549-646: Is to say, an ASIO operative would be deemed to have committed a crime if they were to participate in any of the following activities under any circumstances: ASIO also has the power to collect foreign intelligence within Australia at the request of the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Minister for Defence . Known as Joint Intelligence Operations, and usually conducted in concert with the Australian Secret Intelligence Service

610-709: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation 's Four Corners programme that the KGB had in fact infiltrated ASIO in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ASIO acknowledged in October 2016 that it had been infiltrated. In 2023, the mole was identified as Ian George Peacock. Peacock's code name within the KGB was "Mira". ASIO began planning for the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, held in Sydney, as early as 1995. A specific Olympics Coordination Branch

671-903: The Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO), the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (DIGO), and the Office of National Assessments (ONA). The committee, then called the Parliamentary Joint Committee on ASIO, ASIS and DSD, was established pursuant to the Intelligence Services Act 2001 and

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732-648: 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

793-499: The Office of National Assessments , was found to have removed documents pertaining to Chinese intelligence operations in Australia, and kept them in his apartment. 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. On 21 August 1974, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam announced

854-764: The Parliament of Australia 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

915-561: The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and the Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. A classified annual report is provided to the government, an unclassified edited version of which is tabled in federal Parliament . 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

976-538: 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. ASIO reports to several governmental and parliamentary committees dealing with security, legislative and financial matters. This includes

1037-505: The Attorney-General. The current Director-General of Security is Mike Burgess , who assumed office on 16 September 2019. There are also two Deputy Directors-General. In 2013, ASIO had a staff of around 1,740. The identity of ASIO officers, apart from the Director-General, remains an official secret. While ASIO is an equal opportunity employer, there has been some media comment of its apparent difficulty in attracting people from

1098-798: 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

1159-541: The CIA with information about prominent Australian politicians and government officials. The information included accusations of subversive activities and details of private lives. 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

1220-602: The Director-General may also seek a warrant from an independent judicial authority to allow: The Director-General is not empowered to independently issue a warrant in relation to the investigation of terrorism. While the Act does not define any activities specifically to be legal, that is, to grant immunity for any specific crime, it does provide exceptions that will not be granted immunity. Section 35k (1) defines these activities as not being immune from liability for special intelligence conduct during special intelligence operations. That

1281-756: The Establishment and Maintenance of a Security Service . 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' [ sic ]. The new service

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1342-583: 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". 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

1403-492: 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

1464-598: The National Broadband Network, on the advice of the ASIO. The Australian government feared Huawei would provide backdoor access for Chinese cyber espionage . In May 2013, ABC News claimed that China stole blueprints to the headquarters of the ASIO. Sheri Yan and Roger Uren were investigated by ASIO on suspicion of spying for China. Uren, former Assistant Secretary responsible for the Asia section of

1525-730: The Soviet spy ring in Canberra consumed much of the resources of ASIO during the 1950s. This operation became internally known as "The Case". Among the prime suspects of the investigations were Wally Clayton , a prominent member of the Australian Communist Party , 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

1586-708: 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

1647-501: The context of the United States Armed Forces ' military intelligence , HUMINT activity may involve clandestine activities, however these operations are more closely associated with CIA projects. Both counterintelligence and HUMINT include clandestine human intelligence and its associated operational techniques . Typically, sources of HUMINT generally include: The first steps for recruiting HUMINT sources

1708-547: 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, an English-Australian woman 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,

1769-748: The establishment of the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security to inquire into Australia's intelligence agencies. 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

1830-579: 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

1891-502: The field station. Italy's AISE uses mainly human intelligence. Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) is a joint committee of the Parliament of Australia which oversees Australia 's primary agencies of the Australian Intelligence Community : Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO),

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1952-456: 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. The Commission found that ASIO provided

2013-411: 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 . Robert Frederick Bird Wake , one of the foundation directors of ASIO,

2074-783: 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. Petrov was able to provide information on the structure of the Soviet intelligence apparatus in

2135-699: 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. In fact, when Brigadier Spry retired, the Deputy Director of the CIA sent the following tribute: ASIO's counter-intelligence successes continued throughout the Cold War . Following an elaborate investigation between 1961 and 1963, ASIO recommended

2196-420: The name suggests, human intelligence is mostly collected by people and is commonly provided via espionage or some other form of covert surveillance . However, there are also overt methods of collection, such as via interrogation of subjects or simply through interviews. The manner in which HUMINT operations are conducted is dictated by both official protocol and the nature of the source of the information. Within

2257-467: The potential to be, violent for the purposes of achieving a political objective". 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". Nicola Roxon , the Attorney-General of Australia, blocked Chinese, state-owned company Huawei from seeking a supply contract for

2318-423: 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. 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. When investigating terrorism,

2379-508: The purpose of these operations is the gathering of security intelligence on and from foreign officials, organisations or companies. 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

2440-402: The recommendations fr0m the flood inquiry. On 2 December 2005, the name of the committee was changed to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS). The members of the first committee were appointed in March 2002. The PJCIS's main function is administrative and expenditure review and oversight of ASIO, ASIS and DSD. The committee can also review matters relating to

2501-453: The report concluded in 1979, Justice Hope designated ASIO as the agency responsible for national threat assessments in terrorism and politically motivated violence. He also recommended that relations between ASIO and State and Territory police forces be regulated by arrangements between governments. Human intelligence (intelligence gathering) Human intelligence ( HUMINT , pronounced / ˈ h j uː m ɪ n t / HEW -mint )

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2562-423: The rollout of Australia's 5G network. Overshadowed by the leadership controversy, these security decisions went largely unreported. However, security partners, such as Congressman Mike Gallagher would later see that Australia was both the first Western democracy to be targeted by China and the first to protect itself: Australia was not only the canary in the coal mine for the expansion of Chinese influence, and just

2623-522: The sale of the Port Darwin to interests connected to the Chinese Communist Party , the committee made recommendations for the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (Cth) (Act) — placing a national security test to any foreign investment into energy or water assets and, notably, ports. In early 2018, the joint committee heard submissions from the intelligence services that indicated Australia

2684-469: 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

2745-466: The three agencies referred to them by Parliamentary Resolution, or by a request from the Minister responsible for the agency in question. The committee does not review intelligence gathering or operational procedures or priorities, nor does it conduct inquiries into individual complaints about the activities of ASIO, ASIS or DSD. Several major security reforms have been introduced to Commonwealth law, as

2806-530: The time. 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

2867-659: The war, on 1 November 1919, the SIB and Commonwealth Police were merged to form the Investigation Branch within the Attorney General's Department. During World War II , 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

2928-689: The way that they ruthlessly waged economic and ideological warfare; but was also the leader of the free world, the first country to take massive steps to counter that. The committee consists of eleven members: five from the Senate and six from the House of Representatives . Six members are from the Government and five from the Opposition . Serving ministers are not allowed to be members, but members may previously have held ministerial positions. Members of

2989-427: Was compromised, the United States pulled back on the information it shared with Australia. 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

3050-479: 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. 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,

3111-636: 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

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3172-448: 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". The Olympics Coordination Branch also began planning for

3233-402: Was declared persona non-grata . He was ejected from Australia on the grounds that he had performed duties in violation of his diplomatic status. These successes were marred, however, by the penetration of ASIO by a KGB mole in the 1970s. Due to the close defence and intelligence ties between Australia and the United States, ASIO became a backdoor to American intelligence. Upon realising ASIO

3294-697: 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

3355-409: 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. 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

3416-465: Was facing an unprecedented threat from espionage and foreign interference. The committee made "60 bipartisan recommendations on the government's separate espionage and foreign interference laws, which include greater protections for journalists." The committee also contributed amendments to the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018 . At this time, ZTE and Huawei and other "high-risk vendors" were deemed as unsuitable technology partners for

3477-412: Was first appointed in March 2002. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on ASIO, ASIS and DSD (PJCAAD) was established pursuant to the Intelligence Services Act 2001 and replaced the Parliamentary Joint Committee on ASIO (which was established in 1988) and the Joint Select Committee on the Intelligence Services . The PJCIS's purview was expanded from 1 July 2004 to include DIO, DIGO and ONA, following

3538-453: 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

3599-599: 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

3660-420: 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. 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

3721-402: 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". The Labor Government

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