Office of National Assessments

What ONA does

ONA provides assessments on international matters of political, strategic and economic significance to the Prime Minister, members of the National Security Committee of Cabinet and key senior policy makers in the government. ONA bases its assessments on information from a range of sources, both inside and outside the government.

While ONA reports directly to the Prime Minister and sits within the Prime Minister’s portfolio, responsibility for the preparation of assessments and day-to-day management issues falls to the Director-General of ONA. The Director-General of ONA is an independent statutory officer who is not subject to external direction on the contents of ONA assessments.

In addition to setting out ONA’s assessment function, the Office of National Assessments Act 1977 (ONA Act) charges ONA with responsibility for coordinating and reviewing Australia’s foreign intelligence activities and issues of common interest among Australia’s foreign intelligence agencies. ONA is also responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of Australia’s foreign intelligence effort and the adequacy of its resourcing.

Further information about ONA can be found on the Office of National Assessments website.

Statutory Independence – Inquiry 2007

On 14 February 2007 I advised the then Prime Minister and the Director-General of ONA of my intention to conduct an own motion inquiry into the statutory independence of ONA (as provided for under section 8(3)(c) of the IGIS Act).

While the inspection activity conducted in the previous reporting period was generally positive, I decided that as a matter of proper process I should conduct a full inquiry using all the powers available to me on matters relating to the statutory independence of ONA.

The inspection activity in 2006 was useful in establishing an outline of what independence means for ONA, in scoping how to best examine it and providing a preliminary perspective. The methodology used in conducting this inquiry, while largely consistent with the methodology used in undertaking the 2006 inspection activity, was more wide-reaching.

As well as undertaking the same review activities as in 2006, I decided to look in greater detail at a range of activities including source documentation procedures, practices regarding review of previous judgements in intelligence assessments, and consideration and evaluation of divergent viewpoints within and outside ONA. To that end I sought access to documentation on end-noting, internal ONA reviews of key judgements, documentation on dissent, and drafts of ONA product and documentation indicating changes made to drafts.

I also undertook a series of confidential, individual discussions with selected staff, both current and former, with a view to gaining an appreciation of thoughts and experiences across the branches and at different APS classification levels in ONA.

ONA’s internal culture is one of constructive debate and contestability, and analysts are well imbued with the concept of ONA judgments needing to be independent. There are various internal processes which support independence and integrity in the preparation of assessments and analysts were very positive about these. I made some minor suggestions for strengthening of these processes.

In the course of this inquiry, I found no evidence or indication of improper pressure or attempted direction from ministers or their offices.

While policy departments very occasionally could press their arguments in a way which bordered on undue pressure, ONA’s final judgements did not appear to have been affected in any improper way.

A copy of the key judgements of the report is at Annex 3.

Privacy guidelines

In December 2005 ONA adopted a set of privacy guidelines that outline standards for the handling, use, and further dissemination of information about Australian persons. The guidelines apply to references to personal information about Australian persons in any external communications — including reports, briefings, emails and advice — emanating from ONA.

The ONA privacy guidelines are essentially identical to the privacy rules which are applicable to ASIS, DSD and DIGO. (A copy of the ONA privacy guidelines can be found at Annex 7 of the IGIS Annual Report 2005–06).

In the two and a half years since implementing the privacy guidelines, ONA’s processes for managing appropriately information about Australian persons have become increasingly sophisticated. These improvements are underpinned by continued training for analysts on applying the guidelines and reporting on compliance with the guidelines.

During this reporting period I conducted four inspections of ONA’s use of the privacy guidelines. I was satisfied with ONA’s application of, and compliance with, the privacy guidelines and the efforts undertaken to improve the quality and care taken in the documentation.

I will continue to conduct inspections relating to ONA’s use of the privacy guidelines at quarterly intervals.

Training

I have continued to raise awareness about my office and also encourage greater interaction between my office and ONA. Throughout the year I presented to the AIC common induction and senior officers courses, to which ONA staff are regularly allocated places.

Information about the role and functions of my office is also accessible on ONA’s internal web pages.

Complaints and inquiries

There were no complaints made to my office about ONA in the reporting period.

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