Office of National Intelligence

The Office of National Intelligence (ONI) is an Australian statutory intelligence agency responsible for advising the Prime Minister and National Security Committee, the production of all-source intelligence assessments, and the strategic development and enterprise management of the National Intelligence Community.[1][2][3] The ONI is directly accountable to the Prime Minister of Australia as a portfolio agency of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Office of National Intelligence
Agency overview
Formed20 December 2018
Preceding agency
JurisdictionCommonwealth of Australia
HeadquartersRobert Marsden Hope Building, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Parent agencyDepartment of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

ONI is the Australian equivalent of the United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the United Kingdom Joint Intelligence Organisation.

History

The origins of ONI stem from recommendations of the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security (also known as the First Hope Commission) which was established on 21 August 1974 by Australia's Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and led by Justice Robert Hope, for the formation of an independent agency to provide intelligence assessments on political, strategic and economic issues directly to the Prime Minister.[4][5] The Commission reported in 1977 to the Australian Government led by Malcolm Fraser, and four of its eight reports were tabled in Parliament.

The ONA was established under the Office of National Assessments Act 1977, which ensured ONA's statutory independence from government. ONA began operations on 20 February 1978, assuming the Joint Intelligence Organisation's foreign intelligence assessment role. The Joint Intelligence Organisation retained its defence intelligence assessment role until it was restructured as the Defence Intelligence Organisation in 1990.[6]

The formation of the Office of National Intelligence was announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the 18 July 2017 in line with recommendations from the 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community led by Michael L'Estrange and Stephen Merchant. The Office of National Intelligence subsumes the Office of National Assessments with an expanded role in the strategic development and enterprise management of the National Intelligence Community.[7][8] On the 1 December 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced Nick Warner, then Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and former Secretary of the Department of Defence, to serve as the Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence.[9][10] ONI was formally stood up on the 20 December 2018.[11]

Role

The recommendations of the 2017 Independent Intelligence Review outline that the Office of National Intelligence would serve as the principal advisory agency to the Prime Minister on intelligence matters with new and expanded responsibilities from the Office of National Assessments including:[12]

  • convening and chairing the National Intelligence Coordination Committee and a proposed Intelligence Integration Board;
  • convening a proposed National Intelligence Community Science and Technology Advisory Board, National Intelligence Community Innovation Fund, National Intelligence Community Innovation Hub, and Joint Capability Fund;
  • producing all-source national assessments and strategic foreign intelligence assessments;
  • identifying national intelligence priorities in support of government policy-making;
  • overseeing performance evaluations of the Australian Intelligence Community;
  • coordinating joint capabilities and shared services across the National Intelligence Community;
  • developing an Intelligence Capability Investment Plan for the Forward Estimates period;
  • coordinating international intelligence liaison relationships; and
  • setting community-wide standards for security, analytic tradecraft and ICT.

See also

References
  1. 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
  2. "A Strong and Secure Australia". Prime Minister of Australia. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  3. Office of National Intelligence Office of National Intelligence (Australia)
  4. National Archives of Australia Archived 2019-06-05 at the Wayback Machine Records of the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security
  5. Gyngell, A. and Wesley, M. (2003) Making Australian Foreign Policy. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. (page 146)
  6. Office of National Assessments Archived 2018-11-22 at the Wayback Machine History of the ONA
  7. 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
  8. "A Strong and Secure Australia". Prime Minister of Australia. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  9. "Maintaining a Strong and Secure Australia" Archived 2018-03-24 at the Wayback Machine Prime Minister of Australia press release, 1 December 2017
  10. "Malcolm Turnbull names spy chief Nick Warner to lead new security agency" The Canberra Times, 1 December 2017
  11. Office of National Intelligence Office of National Intelligence (Australia)
  12. 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
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