Defence Intelligence Organisation

What DIO does

296. The role of the Defence Intelligence Organisation is to provide intelligence to inform defence and government policy and planning, to support the planning and conduct of Defence Force operations.

297. DIO also aims to develop and maintain a defence intelligence capability for use in time of crisis and conflict. DIO does not concern itself with domestic developments or situations within Australia.

298. Further information about DIO is at http://www.dod.gov.au/dio/.

Accountability arrangements

299. DIO is an intelligence assessment agency, not a collector of intelligence. This means that its day to day activities are unlikely to impinge upon the privacy of Australians.

300. This is recognised in the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986, which provides the Inspector-General with restricted functions in relation to DIO.

301. Although I have periodic consultations with and briefings from the Director, it is not necessary to inspect DIO’s activities on a routine basis.

Complaints and inquiries

302. In December 2000 the then Minister for Defence asked me to inquire into a complaint by a member of the Australian Defence Force who was critical of certain intelligence reporting and related issues affecting the complainant personally.

303. The investigation concluded in February 2003 and I provided a final report to the minister in May.

304. Several factors influenced the duration of the inquiry, as follows:

a lot of records required review;
difficulty in contacting some of the people nominated by the complainant as supporting his position;
the need to obtain information from a number of DIO officers; and
the greater weight placed on higher priority investigations conducted by the office.

305. The inquiry report contained classified information but the minister was able to provide the complainant with an unclassified version.

306. The report concluded that while the complainant’s concerns were genuinely and sincerely held, they did not stand up to objective scrutiny.

307. The report also suggested, though not as a formal recommendation, that it might be desirable, in special circumstances, to establish ad hoc external reviews of intelligence performance.

308. No new complaints during the reporting period specifically referred to DIO.

309. One complainant had concerns about employment within the Australian intelligence community, which required checking with each member of the AIC including DIO.

Bali terrorist attack

310. DIO provided full and enthusiastic assistance with the conduct of this inquiry, devoting major resources to the task of identifying and bringing to attention possibly relevant material. The body of the final report is classified, but the unclassified introduction and summary is at Annex 2 to this annual report.

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