Director-General's Introduction
I am pleased to present the ASIO Corporate Plan for 2026–27 to 2029–30, as required under section 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
ASIO protects Australia and Australians from threats to their security. In a dynamic, diverse and degrading security environment, our mission has never been more important – or more challenging.
Our Corporate Plan lays out how we will address the challenge, and how we will measure our performance.
Counter-terrorism
Politically motivated violence – which includes terrorism – remains one of Australia’s principal security concerns.
Obviously, the heartbreaking and senseless terrorist attack at Bondi is a stark example of the persistent threat of violent extremism.
On behalf of ASIO I acknowledge the deep pain and grief of the families, friends and community of those killed and injured in the tragedy.
I acknowledge those who ran towards danger to help. And I acknowledge my staff and our law enforcement partners who worked around the clock in the days, weeks and months following the attack, and continue to advance our counter-terrorism mission.
As a nation, we are rightly shocked by any act of terrorism. But unfortunately, we should not be surprised.
A national terrorism threat level of PROBABLE means an attack or attack planning is more likely than not.
As I noted in our 2025 Corporate Plan:
“Politically motived violence is raising the temperature of the security environment and making acts of terrorism more likely.”
In Australia – and in other western democracies – grievance is growing, social cohesion is straining, trust in institutions is declining, and intolerance is spreading.
At the same time, traditional transnational terrorist groups such as Islamic State, al-Qa’ida and their affiliates are exploiting permissive spaces to revive and renew their capabilities. While these groups have demonstrated an intent and capability to conduct attacks in foreign countries, the greatest threat in Australia is still an individual or small group using an easily obtained weapon and moving to violence with little or no warning.
ASIO will continue to prioritise its counter-terrorism mission. Key features of the contemporary security environment – including online radicalisation and the spikes in grievance and intolerance – require a whole-of-community response.
Counter-intelligence
Espionage and foreign interference are our other principal security concerns.
Great power competition is driving a relentless hunger for strategic advantage and an insatiable appetite for inside information.
Based on what ASIO is identifying and investigating, more Australians are being targeted for espionage and foreign interference than ever before.
Multiple nations – even some we consider friendly – are seeking to covertly understand and shape Australia’s politics and decision-making, our alliances and partnerships, and our economic and policy priorities.
Increasingly, foreign intelligence services are broadening their collection requirements beyond the traditional categories, aggressively targeting science and technology, as well as public and private sector projects, negotiations and investments that might give foreign companies a commercial advantage. This includes Antarctic research, green technology, critical minerals and rare earths extraction and processing.
AUKUS remains a priority for intelligence collection. ASIO has identified foreign services unsuccessfully seeking to obtain sensitive information about the capabilities and how Australia intends to use them.
At the same time, hostile nation states are persistently trying to penetrate the networks of Australia’s critical infrastructure providers. ASIO assesses the hackers want to maintain persistent undetected access that would allow them to conduct sabotage at a time and moment of their choosing.
Over the period of this Corporate Plan, ASIO will maintain our high-tempo investigative and operational activities to detect and counter espionage, foreign interference and sabotage threats.
Top Secret-Privileged Access
For foreign powers targeting Australia, security-cleared personnel with privileged access to information are an attractive means by which to enable acts of espionage.
The TS-PA Vetting Authority plays a critical role protecting Australia from the threat of espionage and foreign interference. It ensures security clearances are centrally managed to a consistent high standard of trust, and that only appropriately cleared individuals have access to our nation’s most sensitive information and assets.
Last year marked a significant milestone for the National TS-PA Capability, with the TS-PA Vetting Authority now established and centralised within ASIO. In 2026–27, ASIO will continue to build the capacity needed to meet growing demand for TS-PA security clearances across the Commonwealth. We will deliver to the agreed standard of continuous assurance while protecting Australia’s workforce from threats targeting our most sensitive information, capabilities and assets.
Influence and Impact
The ASIO Act empowers ASIO to collect, assess and communicate intelligence.
The scale and sophistication of the threats facing Australia requires ASIO to be proactive in the way it communicates with government, business, academia, industry and the public.
Over the period of this Corporate Plan, ASIO will leverage our capabilities and intelligence to continue to provide actionable insights and impactful advice to help make Australia a more resistant and resilient target.
We will do this through classified reporting, public statements and speeches, and targeted campaigns that address specific security concerns.
Conclusion
Despite the dynamic, diverse and degrading threat environment, Australia should not be insecure about its security.
The threats are not insurmountable. Foreign intelligence services are not invincible. A terrorism threat level of PROBABLE does not mean inevitable.
We can and should have confidence in our ability to respond.
ASIO and our law enforcement partners have disrupted 31 major terrorist plots since 2014.
In 2026–27, ASIO will carefully prioritise its resources against diverse threats to ensure we remain well placed to secure Australia and protect its people.
Mike Burgess AM
Director-General of Security