Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the committee's report entitled Review of administration and expenditure No. 21 (2021-2022): Australian intelligence agencies.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—This review is one of the key functions of the Joint Intelligence and Security Committee set out by section 29 of the Intelligence Services Act, and it is undertaken on an annual basis. During the 2021 to 2022 reporting period, the committee reviewed the administration and expenditure of six of the 10 agencies that form Australia's National Intelligence Community. This included the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation, the Defence Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Signals Directorate and the Office of National Intelligence. Overall during this reporting period, the committee found that these intelligence agencies appropriately managed their administration and expenditure.

However, with a view to improving the administration and expenditure of the National Intelligence Community, the committee has made one recommendation as part of its inquiry. The committee notes that the 2021-22 reporting period began a period of growth for both ASIO and ASD, as well as the commencement of the National Security Office Precinct Project. The committee maintains interest in the administration and expenditure aspects of these initiatives, and looks forward to continued engagement with the relevant agencies on these matters in its future reviews.

The committee acknowledges the evidence of ASD in relation to the launch of the REDSPICE Program at the conclusion of the reporting period. While the committee acknowledges that much of the program is directed at operational capability development, the committee also notes that a significant proportion of the activities to be undertaken under the REDSPICE program comprise elements that fall within the remit of the committee's oversight of administration and expenditure.

The committee considers that, though the progress of the REDSPICE program will continue to form a part of ASD's evidence to the annual review of administration and expenditure, given the rapid pace and ambition of elements of the program, the committee recommends that ASD provide it with an additional update six months after each ASD submission for the duration of the program.

In this report the committee notes the government's response presented in October 2023 to its review of administration and expenditure for the years 2020-21 and wishes to comment further, specifically in relation to recommendation No. 2 that legislation be amended to enable intelligence agencies' classified annual reports to be provided to the committee. In its response the government noted the recommendation while simply restating the current legislative functions of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. The committee reiterates the view put forward in its previous report that allowing intelligence agencies that produce a classified annual report to provide it to the committee would result in considerably greater efficiency for both the committee and the agency and reduce the agency's current administrative burden and duplication of effort in preparing material for the committee's annual review of administration and expenditure.

In this regard the committee emphasises that it is not seeking to be able to inquire directly into the contents of annual reports nor to compel their disclosure to the committee. Rather, the committee recommended the amendment of provisions preventing the annual reports from being provided to the committee in order to allow them to be shared where it is the preference of the agency head to do so to avoid duplication. This recommendation is consistent with views expressed by the agencies during that review. On this basis the committee has invited the government to reconsider and clarify its response to that recommendation.

I also note for the benefit of the House that, in undertaking this review, the committee is prohibited under section 29(3) of the Intelligence Services Act from examining a range of areas such as operational matters or intelligence sources. However, the review of administration and expenditure remains an invaluable function of the committee to provide the Australian public with confidence in Australia's intelligence agencies and forms a key part of the comprehensive oversight to which they are subject. Doing so in this place is part of that democratic process to explain the work to the general public.

The committee initially commenced this review in November 2021 and called for submissions. Following the federal election the committee was able to resume the inquiry and hold classified hearings in November 2022. Noting this review occurred over an extended period, the committee wishes to extend its thanks to the agencies and to the individuals who participated. I also want to extend my thanks to the deputy chair and the members of the committee who have worked on these reports over an extended period. Some of the reports were overlapping, and there was a very difficult period to work through with some 14 inquiries underway at the same time, so I want to thank colleagues on the committee for their hard work and diligence but also, especially, the secretariat staff, who worked so hard and diligently on these reports over what was a very intense period of time. I commend this report to the House.