35°17′33.6″S149°8′40.1″E / 35.292667°S 149.144472°E /-35.292667; 149.144472
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 16 March 1949; 76 years ago (1949-03-16) |
| Jurisdiction | Australian Government |
| Headquarters | Ben Chifley Building,Parkes, Australian Capital Territory |
| Employees | ~2000[note 1] |
| Annual budget | A$594.3 million (2024–25)[3] |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive | |
| Parent department | Department of Home Affairs |
| Website | asio |
TheAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO/ˈeɪzioʊ/) is thedomestic intelligence and nationalsecurity agency of theAustralian Government, responsible for protecting Australia fromespionage,sabotage, foreign interference, politically motivated violence,terrorism, and attacks on the national defence system.[5][6] ASIO is a primary entity of theAustralian Intelligence Community.
ASIO has a wide range of surveillance powers to collecthuman andsignals intelligence. Generally, ASIO operations requiring police powers of arrest and detention under warrant are co-ordinated with theAustralian Federal Police (AFP) and/or withstate and territory police forces.[7] The organisation is comparable to that of the United States'FBI or the BritishMI5.[7]
ASIO Central Office is inCanberra, with a local office being located in each mainland state and territory capital.[8] A new $630 million Central Office named afterBen Chifley, the prime minister who created the organisation, was officially opened by then-prime ministerKevin Rudd on 23 July 2013.[9]
ASIO is established and regulated underAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (Cwth), responsible to thefederal parliament through the Minister for Home Affairs. ASIO also reports to theParliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee and is subject to independent review by theInspector-General of Intelligence and Security. The head of ASIO is theDirector-General of Security, who oversees the strategic management of ASIO within guidelines issued by the Attorney-General. The current Director-General of Security isMike Burgess, who assumed office on 16 September 2019.[10]
In 2018, ASIO had an average of 1,980 staff.[1] Changes since to security measures have meant that the specific headcount is classified and not publicly available.[2] The identity of ASIO officers other than the director-general and deputy director-generals remains an official secret.[5] While ASIO is anequal opportunity employer, there has been some media comment of its apparent difficulty in attracting people from a Muslim or Middle Eastern background.[11][12] Furthermore, ASIO has undergone a period of rapid growth with some 70% of its officers having joined since 2002, leading to what Paul O'Sullivan, director-general from 2005 to 2009, called 'an experience gap'.[13]
| Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 | |
|---|---|
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| Parliament of Australia | |
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| Royal assent | 25 October 1979 |
| Related legislation | |
| Intelligence Services Act 2001 | |
| Status: Current legislation | |
TheAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (theASIO Act) is anAct of theParliament of Australia which replaced theAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1956, which had established ASIO as astatutory body. ASIO had been established in 1949 by Prime Minister Ben Chifley'sDirective for the Establishment and Maintenance of a Security Service under theexecutive power of theConstitution, under the control of theDirector-General of Security and responsible to theAttorney-General.
After passage of theNational Security Legislation Amendment Act 2014 by the Australian Parliament, ASIO officers are exempt from prosecution for a wide range of illegal activities in the course of conducting "operations". ASIO officers may carry arms, and the Minister responsible has the ability under certain conditions to approve the provision of any weapon or training to any specified person, even outside of ASIO officers.[14]
Officers of ASIO are employed under the ASIO Act, and are classed asOfficers of the Commonwealth for the purposes of theCrimes Act 1914, which among other provisions makes impersonating an ASIO officer a criminal offence.[15] The ASIO Act also makes the identification of ASIO officers a criminal offence punishable by one year imprisonment.
The special investigative powers available to ASIO officers under warrant signed by the attorney-general include:[5]
The director-general also has the power to independently issue a warrant should a serious security situation arise and a warrant requested of the attorney-general has not yet been granted.[5]
An ASIO officer may, without warrant, ask an operator of an aircraft or vessel questions about the aircraft or vessel, its cargo, crew, passengers, stores or voyage; and to produce supporting documents relating to these questions.[5]
When investigating terrorism, the director-general may seek a warrant from an independent judicial authority to allow:[5]
The Act does not specifically state the types of crimes that ASIO officers receive immunity from, rather stating the exceptions in which an officer would not be indemnified by the Commonwealth. Section 35k (1)[5] defines these activities as not being immune from liability for special intelligence conduct during special intelligence operations. An ASIO officer would be deemed to have committed a crime if they were to participate in any of the following activities under any circumstances:
ASIO's authority relates exclusively to domestic intelligence and intervention, however ASIO may take part in domestic intelligence gathering relating to a foreign threat alongside theAustralian Secret Intelligence Service,Australian Signals Directorate andAustralian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation. ASIO has the power to collect foreign intelligence within Australia on the issuance of a warrant by the Attorney-General.[16]
Because of the nature of its work, ASIO does not make details of its activities public and law prevents the identities of ASIO officers from being disclosed. ASIO and the Australian Government say that operational measures ensuring the legality of ASIO operations have been established.
ASIO briefs the attorney-general on all major issues affecting security and they are also informed of operations when considering granting warrants enabling the special investigative powers of ASIO. Furthermore, the attorney-general issues guidelines with respect to the conduct of ASIO investigations relating to politically motivated violence and its functions of obtaining intelligence relevant to security.[5]
ASIO reports to several governmental and parliamentary committees dealing with security, legislative and financial matters. This includes the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and the Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee.[17][18] A classified annual report is provided to the government, an unclassified edited version of which is tabled in federal parliament.[19]
The Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security was established in 1986 to provide additional oversight of Australia’s security and intelligence agencies. The inspector-general has complete access to all ASIO records and has a range of inquisitorial powers.
Australia’s intelligence and security agencies maintain close working relationships with the foreign and domestic intelligence and security agencies of other nations. As of 22 October 2008, ASIO has established liaison relationships with 311 authorities in 120 countries.[19]
The Australian Government assumed responsibility for national security and intelligence onfederation in 1901, and took over various state agencies and had to rationalise their functions.[citation needed] There was considerable overlap between the civil and military authorities. Similarly, there was also no Commonwealth agency responsible for enforcing federal laws. At the outbreak ofWorld War I, no Australian government agency was dedicated to security, intelligence or law enforcement.[20] The organisation of security intelligence in Australia took on more urgency with a perceived threat posed byagents provocateurs,fifth columnists andsaboteurs within Australia.
In 1915, the British government arranged for the establishment of a Commonwealth branch of the Imperial Counter Espionage Bureau in Australia. The branch came to be known as theAustralian Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) in January 1916, and maintained a close relationship with state police forces, and later with the Commonwealth Police Force, created in 1917, to conduct investigations independent of state police forces. After the war, on 1 November 1919, the SIB and Commonwealth Police were merged to form theInvestigation Branch within the Attorney General's Department.[20]
Provoked byWorld War II, theCommonwealth Security Service was formed in 1941 to investigate organisations and individuals considered likely to be subversive or actively opposed to national interests; to investigate espionage and sabotage; to vet defence force personnel and workers in defence-related industries; to control the issue of passports and visas; and was responsible for the security of airports and wharves, and factories engaged in manufacture of munitions and other items necessary for Australia’s war effort. It was also responsible for radio security. In June 1945 it produced a report warning of the danger of theCommunist Party of Australia.[21]
Robert Frederick Bird Wake, one of the foundation directors of ASIO, is credited the creation of the Australian intelligence community in 1949, as claimed by Valdemar Wake, in his biographyNo Ribbons or Medals of his father's work as acounter espionage officer.[22][23][24] Wake worked closely with Director-General Reed. During World War II, Reed conducted an inquiry into Wake's performance as a security officer and found that he was competent and innocent of the charges laid by the Army's commander-in-chief, GeneralThomas Blamey.[citation needed] This was the start of a relationship between Reed and Wake that lasted for more than 10 years. Wake was seen as the operational head of ASIO.
Following the end of World War II, the joint United States-UKVenona project uncovered sensitive British and Australian government data being transmitted through Soviet diplomatic channels. Officers fromMI5 were dispatched to Australia to assist local investigations. The leak was eventually tracked to a spy ring operating from theSoviet Embassy in Canberra. Allied Western governments expressed disaffection with the state of security in Australia.[25]
On 9 March 1949, Prime MinisterBen Chifley created the post ofDirector-General of Security and appointedSouth Australian Supreme Court JusticeGeoffrey Reed to the post. On 16 March 1949, Chifley issued aDirective for the Establishment and Maintenance of a Security Service.[26] The Security Service's first authorised telephone interceptions were in June 1949, followed in July by a raid on theSydney office of theCommunist Party of Australia. In August 1949, Reed advised the Prime Minister that he had decided to name the service the 'Australian Security Intelligence Organization' [sic].
The new service was to be modelled on the Security Service of the United KingdomMI5 and an MI5 liaison team (including SirRoger Hollis) was attached to the fledgling ASIO during the early 1950s. HistorianRobert Manne describes this early relationship as "special, almost filial" and continues "ASIO's trust in the British counter-intelligence service appears to have been near-perfect".[25]
The Labor Government was defeated at theDecember 1949 federal election, and in March 1950 the new prime minister,Robert Menzies, appointed the Deputy Director of Military Intelligence,Charles Spry, as the second Director-General of Security, commencing on 9 July 1950. Wake resigned shortly after Spry's appointment. On 6 July 1950, a Directive of Prime Minister Menzies set out theCharter of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, which expanded on Chifley's 1949 Directive. ASIO was converted to a statutory body on 13 December 1956 by theAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1956 (later repealed by theAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979, the current legislation as amended to 2007). Spry would continue to hold the post until January 1970. The spelling of the organisation was amended by legislation in 1999 to bring it into line with the Australian standard form 'organisation'.
The operation to crack the Soviet spy ring in Canberra consumed much of the resources of ASIO during the 1950s. This operation became internally known as "The Case".[27] Among the prime suspects of the investigations wereWally Clayton, a prominent member of theAustralian Communist Party,[28] and two diplomats with theDepartment of External Affairs, Jim Hill andIan Milner. However, no charges resulted from the investigations, because Australia did not have any laws againstpeacetimeespionage at the time.[citation needed]
5 February 1951 saw the arrival in Sydney ofVladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov, Third Secretary of the Soviet Embassy. An ASIO field officer identified Petrov as a possible 'legal', an agent of the Soviet Ministry of State Security (MGB, a forerunner to theKGB) operating underdiplomatic immunity. The Organisation began gently cultivating Petrov through another agent, Dr.Michael Bialoguski, with the eventual goal of orchestrating his defection. Ultimately, Petrov was accused by the Soviet Ambassador of several lapses in judgement that would have led to his imprisonment and probable execution upon his return to theSoviet Union. Petrov feared for his life and accepted the defection life-line provided by ASIO.
The actual defection occurred on 3 April 1954. Petrov was spirited to asafe house by ASIO officers, but his disappearance and the seeming reluctance of Australian authorities to search for him made the Soviets increasingly suspicious. Fearing a defection by Petrov,MVD officers dramatically escorted his wife Evdokia to a waiting aeroplane in Sydney. There was doubt as to whether she was leaving by choice or through coercion and so Australian authorities initially did not act to prevent her being bundled into the plane. However, ASIO was in communication with the pilot and learned through relayed conversations with a flight attendant that if Evdokia spoke to her husband she might consider seekingasylum in Australia.
An opportunity to allow her to speak with her husband came when the Director-General of Security, Charles Spry, was informed that theMVD agents had broken Australian law by carrying firearms on an airliner in Australian airspace and so could be detained. When the aeroplane landed in Darwin for refuelling, the Soviet party and other passengers were asked to leave the plane. Police, acting on ASIO orders, quickly disarmed and restrained the two MVD officers and Evdokia was taken into the terminal to speak to her husband via telephone. After speaking to him, she became convinced he was alive and speaking freely and asked theAdministrator of the Northern Territory for political asylum.
The affair sparked controversy in Australia when circumstantial links were noted between the leader of theAustralian Labor Party and the Communist Party of Australia (and hence to the Soviet spy ring).H.V. Evatt, the leader of the Labor Party at the time, accused Prime MinisterRobert Menzies of arranging the Petrov defection to discredit him. The accusations lead to a disastrous split in the Labor party.[25]
Petrov was able to provide information on the structure of theSoviet intelligence apparatus in the mid-1950s, information that was highly valuable to the United States. It was by obtaining this information that the Organisation's reputation in the eyes of the United States was greatly enhanced.[25]
In fact, when Brigadier Spry retired, the Deputy Director of the CIA sent the following tribute:
ASIO'scounter-intelligence successes continued throughout theCold War. Following an elaborate investigation between 1961 and 1963, ASIO recommended the ejection of the First Secretary of the Soviet Embassy, Ivan Skripov, and his declaration aspersona non grata. Skripov had been refining Kay Marshall,[29] an English-Australian woman[30] as an agent for Soviet intelligence; however, she was in fact an agent of ASIO.
In April 1983, ASIO uncovered more Soviet attempts at espionage andValery Ivanov, who also held the post of First Secretary at the Soviet Embassy, was declaredpersona non grata. He was ejected from Australia on the grounds that he had performed duties in violation of his diplomatic status.
These successes were marred, however, by the penetration of ASIO by aKGBmole in the 1970s.[31] Due to the close defence and intelligence ties between Australia and the United States, ASIO became a backdoor to American intelligence. Upon realising ASIO was compromised, the United States pulled back on the information it shared with Australia.[32]
Following a strenuous internal audit and a jointFederal Police investigation,George Sadil was accused of being the mole. Sadil had been a Russian interpreter with ASIO for some 25 years and highlyclassified documents were discovered in his place of residence. Federal Police arrested Sadil in June 1993 and charged him under theCrimes Act 1914 with several espionage and official secrets related offences. However, parts of the case against him collapsed the following year.
Sadil was committed to trial in March 1994, but theDirector of Public Prosecutions decided not to proceed with the more serious espionage-related charges after reviewing the evidence against him. Sadil's profile did not match that of the mole and investigators were unable to establish any kind of money trail between him and the KGB.
Sadil pleaded guilty in December 1994 to thirteen charges ofremoving ASIO documents contrary to his duty, and was sentenced to three months imprisonment. He was subsequently released on a 12-monthgood behaviour bond. It is believed that another ASIO officer, now retired, is suspected of being the mole but no prosecution attempts have been made.
In November 2004, former KGB Major-GeneralOleg Kalugin confirmed to theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation'sFour Corners programme that the KGB had in fact infiltrated ASIO in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[33]
ASIO acknowledged in October 2016 that it had been infiltrated.[34]
In 2023, the mole was identified as Ian George Peacock.[35] Peacock's code name within the KGB was "Mira".[35]
ASIO began planning for the 2000Olympic andParalympic Games, held in Sydney, as early as 1995.[27] A specific Olympics Coordination Branch was created in 1997, and began recruiting staff with "specialised skills" the following year. In 1998, ASIO "strengthened information collection and analytical systems, monitored changes in the security environment more broadly, improved its communications technology and provided other agencies with strategic security intelligence assessments to assist their Olympics security planning".[citation needed]
The Olympics Coordination Branch also began planning for the Federal Olympic Security Intelligence Centre (FOSIC) in 1998. FOSIC was to "provide security intelligence advice andthreat assessments to State and Commonwealth authorities during the Sydney 2000 Games".[citation needed]
In 2012 it was reported that ASIO had been monitoring the actions of Australians protesting against the coal industry, and was increasing its efforts from previous years. MinisterMartin Ferguson said that he was particularly concerned about protests relating to theHazelwood power station in Victoria. An unnamed security source toldThe Age newspaper that "providing advice and intelligence to safeguard [critical infrastructure] is clearly within ASIO's responsibilities... ASIO has a clear role, including protection against sabotage. And it's clear [environmental] activists pose a greater threat to energy facilities than terrorists." A spokesperson for Attorney GeneralNicola Roxon described ASIO's responsibility in monitoring political action groups as "limited to activity that is, or has the potential to be, violent for the purposes of achieving a political objective".[36]Australian Greens party leaderBob Brown described ASIO monitoring environmentalists as a "political weapon" used by the Government for the benefit of "foreign-owned mining corporations".[37][38]
Nicola Roxon, the Attorney-General of Australia, blocked Chinese, state-owned companyHuawei from seeking a supply contract for the National Broadband Network, on the advice of the ASIO.[39] The Australian government feared Huawei would provide backdoor access forChinese cyber espionage.[40]
In May 2013,ABC News claimed thatChina stole blueprints to the headquarters of the ASIO.[41]
Sheri Yan andRoger Uren were investigated by ASIO on suspicion of spying for China.[42] Uren, former Assistant Secretary responsible for the Asia section of theOffice of National Assessments, was found to have removed documents pertaining to Chinese intelligence operations in Australia, and kept them in his apartment.[42] Yan was suspected of undertakinginfluence operations on behalf of theChinese Communist Party, and introducing ColonelLiu Chaoying, a military intelligence officer, to Australian contacts.[43][42][44]
In 2020,Peter Dutton, thenMinister for Home Affairs, introduced the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2020, which expanded ASIO's questioning powers to cover espionage, foreign interference, and political violence, while the age which ASIO can compulsively question minors has been reduced to 14 from 16. Furthermore, ASIO can authorize the usage of tracking devices without warrants.[45] TheLaw Council of Australia criticized the bill and compared it to the2020 Hong Kong national security law, due to its expansion of questioning powers to cover political violence, which the LCA argued could be used against acts of lawful protest, a claim that ASIO head Mike Burgess rejected.[46]
In March 2021, ASIO's director-generalMike Burgess toldThe Guardian Australia that the agency had removed a "nest of spies" from an unidentified country in 2020. Burgess also acknowledged that ASIO's counter-terrorism case load relating toright-wing extremism had increased from 30% to 40% since theChristchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand. During a 2021 speech, Burgess also confirmed that ASIO would use new terminology including "ideologically motivated violent extremism" to refer to right-wing extremism and "religiously motivated violent extremism" to refer toIslamic extremism.[47]
In early May 2024,The Washington Post reported that ASIO had expelled two officers from India's foreign intelligence service, theResearch and Analysis Wing in 2020, alleging they were part of a "nest of spies" who had sought to cultivate politicians, monitor diaspora communities and obtain classified information. ThePost reported that the 2020 incident was part of a series of clashes between RAW and other Western domestic security services inGermany and theUnited Kingdom.[48][49]
In early November 2025, Burgess stated that three unidentified countries were capable of assassinating perceived political dissidents in Australia. He also confirmed that ASIO had disrupted a foreign intelligence gathering operation involving an Australian citizen, who had been instructed to gather information about Australia's economy, critical minerals and theAUKUS defence pact.[50]
In late August 2025, an ASIO investigation found thatIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IGRC) was implicated in an arson attack on a Jewish restaurant in Sydney in October 2024 and aMelbourne synagogue in December 2024. In response, the Australian Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese declared the Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and three other Iranian officialspersona non grata and withdrew Australian diplomats fromTehran. The Australian Government also confirmed it would designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.[51][52]
On 21 August 1974, Prime MinisterGough Whitlam announced the establishment of theRoyal Commission on Intelligence and Security to inquire into Australia's intelligence agencies.[27]Justice Robert Hope of theSupreme Court of New South Wales was appointed as Royal Commissioner. In 1977 the First Hope Commission made many findings about, and recommendations on, ASIO in the Fourth Report, some of which had been preempted by the Whitlam and Fraser governments. The commission marked the first review of the organisation and was fundamental to securing it as part of Australia's state defensive apparatus. In a secret supplementary report, much of which remains classified, Hope indicated his belief that ASIO's past conduct was the result of its infiltration by a hostile foreign intelligence agency. In a 1998 interview Hope stated that saw some of his major recommendations as having been wrong.[citation needed]
The Commission found that ASIO provided the CIA with information about prominent Australian politicians and government officials. The information included accusations of subversive activities and details of private lives.[53]
Following theSydney Hilton bombing in 1978, the government commissioned Justice Hope with conducting a review into national protective security arrangements and into co-operation between Federal and State authorities in regards to security. In the report concluded in 1979, Justice Hope designated ASIO as the agency responsible for nationalthreat assessments in terrorism and politically motivated violence.[27] He also recommended that relations between ASIO and State and Territory police forces be regulated by arrangements between governments.
Following the publicity surrounding the expulsion of Valery Ivanov, First Secretary at the Soviet Embassy in Canberra, the Government established a Royal Commission to review the activities of Australian security and intelligence agencies.[27] Justice Hope was again Royal Commissioner.
Justice Hope completed his report in December 1984. His recommendations included that:
Justice Hope also recommended that amendments to the ASIO Act provide that "it is not the purpose of the Act that the right of lawful advocacy, protest or dissent should be affected or that exercising those rights should, by themselves, constitute activity prejudicial to security".
In early 1992, Prime MinisterPaul Keating commissioned a review "of the overall impact of changes in international circumstances on the roles and priorities of the Australian intelligence agencies". In his statement of 21 July 1992, Keating said:
The resource reductions mentioned were a cut of 60 staff and a $3.81 million budget decrease.
Following the trial of George Sadil over the ASIO mole scandal and from concern about the implications of material having been removed from ASIO without authority, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Mr Michael Cook AO (former head of theOffice of National Assessments) to inquire into various aspects of national security. The review was completed in 1994.[27]
The Parliamentary Joint Committee completed several reviews and inquiries into ASIO during the 1990s.[27] The first concerned the security assessment process. Another was held in September into "the nature, scope and appropriateness of the way in which ASIO reports to the Australian public on its activities". The Committee concluded that "the total package of information available to the Australian community about ASIO's operations exceeds that available to citizens in other countries about their domestic intelligence agencies." Pursuant to this, recommendations were made regarding the ASIO website and other publicly accessible information.
In July 2018, then-Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull announced the creation of theDepartment of Home Affairs - a new ministry to include theAustralian Federal Police, theAustralian Border Force, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. This meant the transfer of ASIO away from theAttorney-General's Department, although theAttorney-General would remain responsible for approving ASIO warrants.[54] This move was somewhat criticised, with John Blaxland from theAustralian National University warning against tampering with a system that was "arguably the envy of the world", saying "I have yet to see any compelling evidence that what we have is not working, or that there is a compellingly better option out there."[55]
In July 2024, it was reported that ASIO was to be moved back to its original setting within theAttorney-General's Department. Under the new arrangement, theDepartment of Home Affairs retains responsibility for national security policy, its design and implementation, while operational control of ASIO shifts back to theAttorney-General's Department.[56]
From the earliest years of ASIO's existence, possibly from its inception, the organization has been infiltrated bySoviet spies. This was admitted by ASIO beginning in 2016,[57] though other sources had made earlier allegations that Soviet spies had deeply infiltrated ASIO at nearly all levels of intelligence and operations.
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Accusations against ASIO were raised by theAttorney-GeneralLionel Murphy following a series of bombings from 1963 to 1970 on the consulate of Communist Yugoslavia in Australia by Croatian far-right militia. Murphy alleged that ASIO had withheld information on the group which could have led to preventative measures taken against further bomb attacks (however, Murphy was a member of the recently sworn in Labor government, which still held a deep-seated suspicion of ASIO).
On 15 March 1973, Murphy and theCommonwealth Police raided the ASIO offices in Melbourne. While some claim the raid was disastrous, serving little purpose other than to shake-up both ASIO and the Whitlam government, the findings of such investigations were not published.
On 13 February 1978, the SydneyHilton Hotel was bombed, one of the few domestic terrorist incidents on Australian soil. The Hotel was the location for theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Three people in the street were killed – two council workers and a policeman – and several others injured. Former police officer Terry Griffiths, who was injured in the explosion, provided some evidence that suggested ASIO might have orchestrated the bombing or been aware of the possibility and allowed it to proceed. In 1985, the Director-General of Security issued a specific denial of the allegation. In 1991 theNew South Wales parliament unanimously called for a joint State-Federal inquiry into the bombing.[58] However, theFederal government vetoed any inquiry.
A few weeks after the11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, mistakes led ASIO to incorrectly raid the home of Bilal Daye and his wife. It has been revealed that the search warrant was for a different address. The couple subsequently sought damages and the embarrassing incident was settled out of court in late 2005, with all material relating to the case being declared strictly confidential.[59]
In June 2004,Kim Beazley[61] was accused of having a "special relationship" withRatih Hardjono[62] when he was defence minister.[63] Hardjono was allegedly accused of "inappropriately" photographing a secure Australian Defence facility, working with the embassy ID, and having a close working relationship with her uncle, a senior officer inBAKIN (Indonesian Intelligence).[61] In July, journalistGreg Sheridan contacted the then head of ASIO,Dennis Richardson, and discussed a classified operational investigation.[64] Later in July members of the Attorney General's department were still investigating the original allegation, making Richardson's comments premature and inaccurate. The whole episode was a salient reminder to politicians in Canberra of the British experience of'agents of influence' andhoneypots. Ratih Hardjono was married toBruce Grant in the 1990s.[65]
In September 2005, thevisa of American citizen,Scott Parkin, was cancelled afterDirector-General of Security,Paul O'Sullivan, issued an adverse security assessment of the visiting peace activist. Parkin was detained in Melbourne and held in custody for five days before being escorted under guard to Los Angeles, where he was informed that he was required to pay the Australian Government A$11,700 for the cost of his detention and removal.[66] Parkin challenged the adverse security assessment in the Federal Court in a joint civil action with two Iraqi refugees,Mohammed Sagar andMuhammad Faisal, who faced indefinite detention on the island ofNauru after also receiving adverse security assessments in 2005.[67]
Prior to his removal, Parkin had given talks on the role of U.S. military contractorHalliburton in the Iraq war and led a small protest outside the Sydney headquarters of Halliburton subsidiaryKBR. The Attorney-General at that time,Philip Ruddock, refused to explain the reasons for Parkin's removal,[68] leading to speculation that ASIO had acted under pressure from the United States.[69] This was denied by O'Sullivan before a Senate committee, where he gave evidence that ASIO based its assessment only on Parkin's activities in Australia.[70] O'Sullivan refused to answer questions before a later Senate committee hearing[71] after his legal counsel told the Federal Court that ASIO did not necessarily base its assessment solely on Parkin's activities in Australia.[72][73]
On 12 November 2007, theSupreme Court of New South Wales dismissed charges brought against a young medical student, Izhar ul-Haque.[74] ASIO and theAustralian Federal Police had investigated ul-Haque for allegedly training withLashkar-e-Toiba inPakistan, a declared terrorist organisation under theSecurity Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002.[74][75] However, the case against the medical student collapsed when it was revealed that ASIO officers had engaged in improper conduct during the investigation. Justice Michael Adams determined that because ul-Haque was falsely led to believe that he was legally compelled to comply with the ASIO officers, the conduct of at least one of the investigating ASIO officers constitutedfalse imprisonment andkidnap atcommon law, and therefore key evidence against ul-Haque was inadmissible.[76]
Non-current ASIO files are stored at theNational Archives of Australia, and can be released to the public under theArchives Act 1983 after 30 years, unless they fall into any of 16 exemption categories itemised in section 33 of theArchives Act.[77]
This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under theCreative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence.9781741001655
Fairfax Media has confirmed one of Yan's contacts was a Chinese military intelligence operative and reputed arms broker, Colonel Liu Chaoying. Yan introduced Colonel Liu to her Australian network, including a wealthy Australian businessman who took Colonel Liu on several dinner dates.
A Fairfax Media and Four Corners investigation reports the raid targeted Sheri Yan and former Australian diplomat Roger Uren, over allegations she was involved in operations for the Chinese Communist Party.
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