Message from the Director-General

Welcome to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Website.

ASIO is Australia’s security intelligence agency. ASIO’s role is to identify and investigate threats to security, wherever they arise, and to provide advice to protect Australia, its people and its interests.

In simple terms, ASIO’s first priority is to prevent a terrorist attack on Australian soil and to protect Australians and our interests from terrorist attacks overseas. ASIO’s mandate also includes investigation of espionage and foreign interference that also threaten not only the integrity of national institutions, but also our economic competitiveness and democracy. Terrorism is, of course, not new to Australia, but the threat we face today is of a particularly virulent and destructive variety. It is underpinned by a simplistic and flawed ideology, but one that resonates strongly in some quarters, including a small group within Australia. As with terrorism, espionage and foreign interference is enabled by technology and the free flow of people, goods and ideas across borders.

It is true that ASIO operates largely outside of the public gaze. The fact is that ASIO cannot be effective in its responsibility to protect Australia against threats while being an open book to anybody who might wish to read it. Our ability to be discreet, and to protect information, is not just critical to our intelligence gathering efforts. It also goes to the heart of our standing with the Government and to our credibility with the public and our domestic and foreign liaison partners.

But it is also misleading to suggest that its discretion somehow makes ASIO unaccountable. ASIO operates within an extensive oversight and accountability regime that more than compensates for its low public profile. For example, ASIO appears at public Senate Estimates hearings and its work is regularly subjected to scrutiny by the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security.

ASIO also publishes an unclassified annual report and The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security makes many of its reports public.

This website is another medium through which the Australian public can access information about ASIO. It includes sections that detail how the work of ASIO protects the security of Australia and Australian interests, ASIO’s history, the legislative framework that governs the organisation and other useful information for local and state governments, Australian businesses and citizens both here and abroad.

For those who are interested in joining the highly dedicated staff of ASIO, there is information about the many varied roles as well as the benefits of working for the organisation in our “Careers” section. Here you will also uncover some insight into the work of our Officers through the “Day in the Life Of” video and testimonials.

I encourage you to explore our website to understand how ASIO delivers a critical service to Australia’s national security.

David Irvine
Director-General of Security