![]() ![]() ![]() IGIS identified one issue of propriety regarding the timeliness of advice to the Minister in relation to a Ministerial Authorisation whose grounds had ceased to exist. The inspections conducted did not identify any breaches of legislation. ![]() During 2019–20, IGIS reviewed all Ministerial Authorisations obtained by ASIS from the Minister for Foreign Affairs up to February 2020 when this inspection was disrupted by the impact of COVID-19 restrictions. The Inspector-General provided comments and suggestions as appropriate, and having reviewed the submissions sent to the Minister, is satisfied that in each instance the Minister was accurately informed.ĪSIS is a foreign intelligence collection agency and intelligence activities it conducts on Australian persons attract IGIS scrutiny. These submissions were primarily regarding proposed updates to requirements involving the production of intelligence on Australian persons. The majority of the submissions reviewed during the reporting period related to Ministerial Authorisations to produce intelligence on Australian persons these are discussed below.ĪSIS consulted IGIS on several proposed ministerial submissions with potential issues connected to legality and propriety. Due to work restrictions and disruptions resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, IGIS could not conduct all the planned inspections of ministerial submissions. IGIS reviews submissions to ensure that ASIS is appropriately and accurately informing the Minister on relevant ASIS matters. Through its bi-monthly inspections IGIS generally inspects and reviews all ministerial submissions sent by ASIS to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. IGIS is satisfied with ASIS processes and the remediation action taken. Other inspections identified a number of record keeping issues which were minor in nature. Moreover, it should be noted that in the isolated case the information would have met the requirements of the Rules had they been applied. This appears to have been an isolated case as on other occasions relating to this matter the Privacy Rules were clearly considered, correctly applied and appropriately documented. An inspection identified an instance where ASIS communicated intelligence information on an Australian person to another Australian Government agency without first applying the Privacy Rules. It is a breach of section 15(5) of the Intelligence Services Act 2001 (IS Act) for ASIS to communicate intelligence information concerning an Australian person other than in accordance with the Privacy Rules. No significant concerns regarding legality, propriety or human rights were detected and ASIS achieved a very high level of compliance. At the conclusion of these inspections, IGIS is satisfied that ASIS is appropriately identifying and considering legality and propriety risks associated with operational activities. The sensitive nature of ASIS’s operational activities means that specific details of inspection topics, and the matters identified cannot be provided in a public report. During the reporting period, IGIS inspected files relating to ASIS’s operational activities in a number of countries, covering a wide variety of themes. Considerations applied in the inspections of operational files include the appropriate application of the Privacy Rules compliance with internal guidelines, policies, and procedures and human rights requirements such as conventions relating to the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment.įor a given overseas location, source or operation these inspections typically focus on records created in the previous two years. ASIS activities involve the use of human sources and ASIS officers are deployed in many countries to support a wide range of activities including counterterrorism, efforts against people smuggling, and support to military operations. Inspections of operational files involve reviewing a sample of files, focusing on higher risk areas as determined by IGIS. Generally these inspections occur monthly, however, not all scheduled operational file inspections could occur as planned, primarily due to restrictions relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. IGIS officers regularly visited ASIS premises during 2019–20 to inspect ASIS’s operational case files.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |