The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) is a key element of the accountability regime for Australia's intelligence and security agencies: (listed below):
- Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS)
- Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO)
- Defence Imagery & Geospatial Organisation (DIGO)
- Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO)
- Defence Signals Directorate (DSD)
- Office of National Assessments (ONA)
The IGIS was set up under the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986 to provide independent assurance to the Australian government, the Parliament and the people that the agencies:
- conduct their activities within the law
- behave with propriety
- comply with ministerial guidelines and directives
- have regard to human rights
To guarantee independence of the office, the IGIS is appointed by the Governor-General for a fixed term and cannot be dismissed by the government. An IGIS can be reappointed only once.
The Inspector-General is located in the Prime Minister's portfolio.
The current Inspector-General is Mr Ian Carnell. He was first appointed in 2004 and was re-appointed in April 2007 for four years.
Prior to this Mr Carnell was Deputy Secretary, Criminal Justice and Security in the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department. Additional roles included Chairmanship of the CrimTrac Board of Management and the Critical Infrastructure Advisory Council, and membership of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee.
Mr Carnell has been a senior Commonwealth official for many years in the areas of administrative law, policy and program administration and fraud control and investigations.
He is currently also a member of the Administrative Review Council.
WHAT DOES THE IGIS DO?
The IGIS:
- regularly monitors what the intelligence and security agencies do
- conducts inquiries, either self-initiated or at the request of government
- investigates complaints about the agencies
- makes recommendations to government
- provides annual reports to the Parliament
The IGIS has extensive powers to obtain information and can:
- require any person to answer questions and produce relevant documents
- take sworn evidence
- enter agency premises
The IGIS' inquiries are conducted in private, but many of them are reported in annual reports.