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IGIS Annual Report 1999-00 |
IGIS Annual Report 1999-00
WHAT ASIS DOES168. ASIS was conceived at the start of the Cold War as a secret organisation and for a significant period following its establishment governments did not acknowledge that it existed. In recent years, however, more information about it has been made available although the nature of its operations means that much must remain secret.
169. The principal function of ASIS is to collect foreign intelligence according to a set of priorities that are determined by the National Security Committee of Cabinet. These priorities are regularly updated and reviewed to ensure that collection efforts are properly aligned to Australia's national interests.
170. ASIS is a human intelligence (HUMINT) agency. This means that it relies on assistance from human sources to obtain intelligence.
171. ASIS disseminates the intelligence it gathers to other agencies in the form of written reports. These reports are either fed in directly to key government decision-makers or form the basis for intelligence assessments prepared by assessment agencies.
172. Further information about ASIS can be found at http://www.asis.gov.au.
Accountability arrangements
173. Although ASIS has very good reason to keep most of its activities secret this does not mean that it is immune from scrutiny.
174. ASIS is subject to direct ministerial oversight and control and operates under a formal government directive. The Director-General of ASIS reports directly to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
175. ASIS's collection priorities are determined by the National Security Committee of Cabinet, which is supported at the bureaucratic level by the Secretaries Committee on National Security.
176. ASIS is also subject to scrutiny by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security and all its financial statements are audited by the Australian National Audit Office.