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NEWS RELEASE
18 October 2006

ASIO'S WORKLOAD CONTINUES TO GROW

The pace and volume of ASIO's work increased over the past year as it responded to the challenges posed by a dynamic security environment, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said today. Mr Ruddock made his comments as ASIO's annual report was tabled in Parliament. The Organisation conducted 135,000 personnel security checks in 2005-06 in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games, in the aviation and maritime sectors and for people seeking access to ammonium nitrate. ASIO also continued to protect Australia's security through the provision of advice to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs on border security matters. It conducted 53,147 visa security assessments and recommended against the entry of 12 people assessed to pose a security risk because of links to politically motivated violence, terrorism or foreign intelligence services. ASIO sought and was granted one warrant to question a person in relation to suspected terrorism offences during the period. "ASIO has not had a requirement to seek a detention warrant to date. This is not surprising as the power was always intended to be a measure of last resort and so it shows that the powers are being used as Parliament intended," Mr Ruddock said. The report notes that in 2005-06, as in previous years, Australians were killed and injured overseas as a result of terrorist attacks, including in the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Iraq. While the threat from Islamic extremism poses the most immediate danger, other sources of threat, including from espionage, violent protest, nationalist and racist violence, also persist. As part of Australia's commitment toward regional and wider international cooperation on security matters, ASIO delivered counter-terrorism training and capacity-building assistance to partners within our region. In order to meet these challenges ASIO is undergoing rapid growth, with the Government committing additional resources in October 2005. This will see the Organisation grow to 1,860 staff by 2010-11. "ASIO is an integral part of the Government's counter-terrorism strategy. It is pleasing that the Organisation is on track to meet its recruitment targets, with 247 new staff recruited in 2005-06," Mr Ruddock said. "This is the most staff ever recruited in a financial year and took the total to 1,110 as at 30 June." ASIO moved to a nine-division structure on 1 July 2006, providing a framework for the larger workforce and to appropriately direct ASIO's activities. ASIO's Report to Parliament is available by clicking here. ( PDF File 900Kb)