Office of National Intelligence (Australia)

Last updated
Office of National Intelligence
Agency overview
Formed20 December 2018
Preceding agency
Jurisdiction Commonwealth of Australia
Headquarters Robert Marsden Hope Building, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Parent agency Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

The Office of National Intelligence (ONI) is an Australian statutory intelligence agency responsible for advising the Prime Minister and National Security Committee, the production of all-source intelligence assessments, and the strategic development and enterprise management of the National Intelligence Community. [1] [2] [3] The ONI is directly accountable to the Prime Minister of Australia as a portfolio agency of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

National Security Committee (Australia)

The National Security Committee of Cabinet (NSC) is the peak decision-making body for national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. It is a committee of the Australian Government Cabinet of Ministers though decisions of the NSC do not require the endorsement of the Cabinet.

The Australian Intelligence Community (AIC) and the National Intelligence Community (NIC) or National Security Community of the Australian Government are the collectives of statutory intelligence agencies, policy departments, and other government agencies concerned with protecting and advancing the national security and national interests of the Commonwealth of Australia. The intelligence and security agencies of the Australian Government have evolved since the Second World War and the Cold War and saw transformation and expansion during the Global War on Terrorism with military deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq and against ISIS in Syria. Key international and national security issues for the Australian Intelligence Community include terrorism and violent extremism, cybersecurity, transnational crime, the rise of China, and Pacific regional security.

Prime Minister of Australia executive head of the Government of Australia

The Prime Minister of Australia is the head of government of Australia. The individual who holds the office is the most senior Minister of State, the leader of the Federal Cabinet. The Prime Minister also has the responsibility of administering the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and is the chair of the National Security Committee and the Council of Australian Governments. The office of Prime Minister is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia but exists through Westminster political convention. The individual who holds the office is commissioned by the Governor-General of Australia and at the Governor-General's pleasure subject to the Constitution of Australia and constitutional conventions.

Contents

ONI is the Australian equivalent of the United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the United Kingdom Joint Intelligence Committee.

Director of National Intelligence United States government official

The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is the United States government Cabinet-level official—subject to the authority, direction, and control of the President of the United States—required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to:

Joint Intelligence Committee (United Kingdom) British interagency intelligence organisation

The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) is an interagency deliberative body responsible for intelligence assessment, coordination and oversight of the Secret Intelligence Service, Security Service, GCHQ and Defence Intelligence. The JIC is supported by the Joint Intelligence Organisation under the Cabinet Office.

History

The origins of ONI stem from recommendations of the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security (also known as the First Hope Commission) which was established on 21 August 1974 by Australia's Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and led by Justice Robert Hope, for the formation of an independent agency to provide intelligence assessments on political, strategic and economic issues directly to the Prime Minister. [4] [5] The Commission reported in 1977 to the Australian Government led by Malcolm Fraser, and four of its eight reports were tabled in Parliament.

The Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security (RCIS), also known as the First Hope Commission, was a Royal Commission established on 21 August 1974 by Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam to reach findings and make recommendations as to the Australian Intelligence Community.

Gough Whitlam Australian politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia

Edward Gough Whitlam was the 21st Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The Leader of the Labor Party from 1967 to 1977, Whitlam led his party to power for the first time in 23 years at the 1972 election. He won the 1974 election before being controversially dismissed by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, at the climax of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Whitlam remains the only Australian prime minister to have his commission terminated in that manner.

Robert Marsden Hope Australian judge

Robert Marsden Hope, was a Justice of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and Royal Commissioner on three separate occasions, most notably the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security. As a judge Hope was known for his legal positivism and as a royal commissioner he "instilled a sense of impartiality".

The ONA was established under the Office of National Assessments Act 1977, which ensured ONA's statutory independence from government. ONA began operations on 20 February 1978, assuming the Joint Intelligence Organisation's foreign intelligence assessment role. The Joint Intelligence Organisation retained its defence intelligence assessment role until it was restructured as the Defence Intelligence Organisation in 1990. [6]

The Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO) was an Australian government intelligence agency that existed between 1969 and 1990 and which was responsible for the analysis of defence and foreign intelligence.

Defence Intelligence Organisation Australian military intelligence agency

The Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) is an Australian government military intelligence agency responsible for strategic intelligence and technical intelligence assessments, advising defence and government decision-making on national security and international security issues, and the planning and conduct of Australian Defence Force operations. The DIO does not collect intelligence or conduct covert action, but works on defence economics, transnational terrorism, and WMD.

The formation of the Office of National Intelligence was announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the 18 July 2017 in line with recommendations from the 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community led by Michael L'Estrange and Stephen Merchant. The Office of National Intelligence subsumes the Office of National Assessments with an expended role in the strategic development and enterprise management of the National Intelligence Community. [7] [8] On the 1 December 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced Nick Warner, then Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and former Secretary of the Department of Defence, to serve as the Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence. [9] [10] ONI was formally stood up on the 20 December 2018. [11]

Malcolm Turnbull 29th Prime Minister of Australia

Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian former politician who was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He served twice as Leader of the Liberal Party, firstly from 2008 to 2009 when he was also Leader of the Opposition, and a second time from 2015 to 2018. He was the MP for Wentworth in the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2018.

Michael LEstrange Australian academic, public servant and diplomat

Michael Gerard L'Estrange is an Australian academic and former public servant. He is the former Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University, in Canberra. L'Estrange had earlier served a long career in the Australian public service including as a diplomat and as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Nick Warner Australian diplomat; Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service

Nicholas Peter Warner is an Australian diplomat, intelligence official, public servant, and the Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence since 20 December 2018.

Role

The recommendations of the 2017 Independent Intelligence Review outline that the Office of National Intelligence would serve as the principal advisory agency to the Prime Minister on intelligence matters with new and expanded responsibilities from the Office of National Assessments including: [12]

Office of National Assessments Australian intelligence agency

The Office of National Assessments (ONA) was an Australian statutory intelligence agency established by the Office of National Assessments Act 1977 as an independent statutory body directly accountable to the Prime Minister of Australia as a portfolio agency of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. ONA provided all-source assessments on international political, strategic and economic developments to the Prime Minister and the National Security Committee of Cabinet. ONA also played a coordination role in the Australian Intelligence Community through evaluating foreign intelligence products, convening the National Intelligence Coordination Committee, and developing relationships with intelligence agencies around world.

See also

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The Defence Strategic Policy and Intelligence Group (SP&I) of the Australian Government Department of Defence is responsible for defence diplomacy, strategic policy, international security, and military intelligence co-ordination and advice to the Prime Minister of Australia, Minister for Defence, Secretary of the Department of Defence, and Chief of the Defence Force. The Defence Strategic Policy and Intelligence Group is led by the Deputy Secretary for Strategic Policy and Intelligence and comprises four policy divisions and three intelligence agencies, which are the Australian Defence Organisation members of the Australian Intelligence Community.

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), 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).

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The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is an Australian Government public service central department of state with broad ranging responsibilities, primary of which is for intergovernmental and whole of government policy coordination and assisting the Prime Minister of Australia in managing the Cabinet of Australia. The PM&C was established in 1971 and traces its origins back to the Prime Minister's Department established in 1911.

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The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) is an independent statutory office holder in the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for reviewing the activities of the six intelligence agencies which collectively comprise the Australian Intelligence Community (AIC). With own motion powers in addition to considering complaints or requests from ministers, IGIS is a key element of the accountability regime for Australia’s intelligence and security agencies.

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National Intelligence Coordination Committee

The National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC) is a peak intergovernmental officials-level body of the Government of Australia responsible for the development and co-ordination of the Australian Intelligence Community in accordance with the National Security Committee of Cabinet. The NICC is chaired by the Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence.

The Department of Home Affairs is the Australian Government interior ministry with responsibilities for national security, law enforcement, emergency management, border control, immigration, refugees, citizenship, and multicultural affairs. The portfolio also includes federal agencies such as the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The Home Affairs portfolio reports to the Minister for Home Affairs The Hon. Peter Dutton MP and is led by Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs Mike Pezzullo.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) is an Australian Government intergovernmental and interagency hub responsible for cybersecurity including analysing, investigating and reporting cyber threats and coordinating national security capabilities and operations for incidents of cybercrime, cyberterrorism, and cyberwarfare. The ACSC is hosted by the Australian Signals Directorate but based at the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation headquarters in the Ben Chifley Building. The Centre is led by the National Cyber Coordinator, overseen by the Cyber Security Operations Board, and is the joint responsibility of the Minister for Defence and the Minister for Home Affairs.

References

  1. ↑ 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
  2. ↑ "A Strong and Secure Australia". Prime Minister of Australia. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Office of National Intelligence Office of National Intelligence (Australia)
  4. ↑ National Archives of Australia Records of the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security
  5. ↑ Gyngell, A. and Wesley, M. (2003) Making Australian Foreign Policy. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. (page 146)
  6. ↑ Office of National Assessments History of the ONA
  7. ↑ 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
  8. ↑ "A Strong and Secure Australia". Prime Minister of Australia. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "Maintaining a Strong and Secure Australia" Prime Minister of Australia press release, 1 December 2017
  10. ↑ "Malcolm Turnbull names spy chief Nick Warner to lead new security agency" The Canberra Times, 1 December 2017
  11. ↑ Office of National Intelligence Office of National Intelligence (Australia)
  12. ↑ 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
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