AGO

The Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisations (AGO) is the Government’s lead geospatial and imagery intelligence organisation. Its purpose is to provide geospatial intelligence from imagery and other sources, in support of Australia’s defence and national interests.

Each year the IGIS conducts a number of inspections and reviews of the activities of AGO. Details of the inspections and assessments are published in the IGIS annual report.

Ministerial authorisations to produce intelligence on Australian persons

The ISA requires AGO to obtain authorisation from the Minister for Defence before conducting certain activities, including the production of intelligence on an Australian person. This authorisation is usually requested in conjunction with ASD. During 2019-20, IGIS reviewed the majority of applications made by AGO for ministerial authorisation. During the reporting period, AGO proactively reported one instance where it produced an intelligence product that included information relating to an Australian person, without obtaining a ministerial authorisation. IGIS officers reviewed this matter and the Inspector-General agreed with AGO’s assessment that the incident did not comply with s 9 and s 15 of the IS Act. The Inspector-General was satisfied with the remedial action AGO took in response to the incident, including informing the Minister for Defence of the non-compliance. Additionally, AGO implemented measures to mitigate the likelihood of future non-compliance in similar circumstances. IGIS did not identify any other concerns relating to AGO’s applications for ministerial authorisation, renewals, or circumstances in which AGO sought to cancel an authorisation.

Director’s approvals and post activity reporting

The Minister for Defence requires the Director of AGO to approve AGO activities intended to produce geospatial or imagery intelligence on a person or body corporate in Australian territory or subject to Australian jurisdiction, unless the activity is one for which AGO must seek ministerial authorisation. The Director of AGO is also required to provide the Minister with quarterly reports on the activities conducted in accordance with such approval. The accuracy of these and other reports provided to the Minister for Defence were reviewed during the reporting period by IGIS staff, and no issues were identified.

At the conclusion of approved activities, AGO staff prepare a post-activity compliance report for the Director, which this office examines. During 2019-20, IGIS staff identified no significant issues with these reports.

AGO compliance with privacy rules

The Minister for Defence issues written rules (the AGO Privacy Rules) to regulate how AGO communicates and retains intelligence information concerning Australian persons. During the 2019–20 reporting period, IGIS conducted an in-depth inspection to review AGO’s application of the Privacy Rules, using a sample of AGO products published between July 2018 and October 2019. IGIS officers identified 16 products where a privacy rule was not correctly applied. It should be noted that in these instances the information would have met the requirements of the Privacy Rules had they been applied. IGIS, in cooperation with AGO, identified the factors that led to the non-compliance, and AGO subsequently took remedial action to make future recurrence less likely. This included implementing compliance checklists, additional training, and specific prompts in approval templates, which will assist in preventing similar non-compliance. IGIS is satisfied with AGO’s remedial actions.

Additionally, IGIS identified five products produced under a Director’s approval where a privacy rule was not applied. AGO found that this non-compliance resulted from a misunderstanding within a particular team about the application of the rules, and subsequently provided additional training and compliance support to the team. IGIS is satisfied that AGO took appropriate actions to address the non-compliance.

Australian Hydrographic Office

In October 2017, the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO) functions were transferred from the Royal Australian Navy to AGO. This transfer meant that IGIS assumed oversight of the functions of the AHO in relation to any intelligence collection or application of the AGO Privacy Rules. The AHO has fully incorporated IS Act requirements into its daily workflows and has received relevant compliance training. However, due to current differences in task tracking and recording in separate systems, IGIS has not yet reviewed any AHO products. In the 2019–20 reporting period, IGIS was unable to conduct planned outreach and inspection activities at the Wollongong site due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Pending the finalisation of infrastructure upgrades at the Wollongong site, IGIS officers will conduct outreach and inspection activities during the 2020–21 reporting period. Given the nature of AHO work, IGIS assesses that the risk of non-compliance is low.