ASIO’s Director-General of Security, Paul O’Sullivan, gives his thoughts on the challenges he faces and how the agency has had to change to deal with greater threats to national security
What are your primary responsibilities as Director-General of Security and does your role differ much to your predecessors?
ASIO is a dedicated security intelligence agency. The concept of “security intelligence” can be traced back to before the First World War. It was initially understood to mean protection against espionage, sabotage and subversion.
The decision to create a dedicated security intelligence service in Australia – which was taken in 1949 when Prime Minister Chifley gave Justice Reed the directive that effectively created ASIO – recognised three important points. First, that there are certain enduring threats that have the potential to undermine seriously Australia’s national security. Second, that in order to protect adequately against these threats, the agency responsible would need to be empowered to undertake activities that might normally be seen as an intrusion on individuals’ rights. And third, that the agency responsible would need to be accountable to – but one step removed from – the government of the day.
This balance between protection against threats, civil liberty and political neutrality has been preserved in legislation, primarily the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act (the ASIO Act).
In its definition of “security”, the ASIO Act specifies the threats that ASIO is charged with protecting against – espionage, sabotage, politically motivated violence (which includes terrorism), the promotion of communal violence, attacks on Australia’s defence system, and acts of foreign interference. The ASIO Act provides the legal authority for the organisation to collect and communicate intelligence, including under the warrant of the Attorney-General. It mandates the organisation’s political independence, including by requiring that the Director-General of Security brief the Leader of the Opposition on matters relevant to security.
This is a long way of saying that the Director-General of Security has some specific responsibilities for Australia’s security, and they are legislated in the ASIO Act. In fact, the High Court found that only the Director-General of Security may determine what is, or is not, relevant to “security”, as it is defined in the ASIO Act.
The second fundamental set of responsibilities I have as Director-General of Security is to manage an already sizeable and expanding organisation, and one whose role, within the Australian government, is unique.
This involves ensuring that ASIO is focused on Australia’s current security challenges, has the capability to meet future challenges through the appropriate management and guidance of staff and resources, and is positioned to meet the expectations of government.
Much of this is outlined in ASIO’s Corporate Plan 2007-2011. The fact that ASIO is an intelligence agency adds to the management challenge, for example our need to protect sources and methods, protect the identity of our officers and for a very high level of security. Managing risk is also, of course, an important part of my role as Director-General of Security.
In recent years, ASIO seems to have had a far more public face. What has been the primary reason for this change and how difficult a shift has it been?
ASIO has published an unclassified Report to Parliament since 1983, which provides the public with information about ASIO’s work. So we’re probably talking more about an evolution, than a sudden shift. The terrorist incidents that have occurred since 2001 in the US, Bali and other parts of the world have increased the awareness of the work done by ASIO and other government agencies involved in counter-terrorism.
ASIO has a significant role to play in explaining the nature of the threat to the Australian public, which we do through our annual Report to Parliament, during Parliamentary hearings, my public statements and my engagement with the public.
ASIO has also placed a greater emphasis on reaching out to specific sectors of the community in recent years, such as through the establishment of the Business Liaison Unit in 2005. The BLU provides an important avenue for ASIO to communicate threat information and protective security advice to Australia’s business community, and also provides a vehicle for business leaders to discuss issues of security interest that may affect their businesses.
As part of ASIO’s plan to get the best recruits through our doors, we’ve conducted a number of high-profile recruitment campaigns – which have increased our public profile in a positive manner.
ASIO seems to have the highest public profile of the various intelligence agencies. Why is that?
ASIO’s work brings it into contact on a daily basis with the public in a way that other members of the Australian intelligence community agencies do not.
How much of a role does ASIO play in assessing security risks among the various intelligence agencies, and has there been much change in the way you assess those risks?
ASIO’s core business is to assess threats to security and provide advice to the Government. ASIO employs risk management principles in the conduct of all its business, and considers risks in the formulation of its assessments of threat. Over the years ASIO has developed sound expertise in the assessment of security threats – especially those arising from terrorism.
ASIO’s advice helps clients make risk decisions – whether for physical security of critical infrastructure, to inform threat levels for travel advice, or in the development of policy settings. We also provide advice on visa assessments and access to classified material.
What kinds of staff do you employ in risk management/assessment roles?
ASIO staff in a wide variety of roles address risk as part of their day-to-day duties, and must incorporate their assessment of that risk into their work. These might include, for example:
• analysts who undertake work to provide ASIO’s protective security services to government and the private sector;
• analysts in the National Threat Assessment Centre within ASIO, who receive information from around the world, and assess that to provide timely judgements concerning events or emerging threats impacting on Australia’s security and interests;
• staff undertaking security assessments as part of ASIO’s role in Australia’s border security or the protection of national security information;
• those involved in assessing risk to critical infrastructure – where ASIO’s work underpins the activities of the Federal, State and Territory Government bodies and the private sector in contextualising threats to vital assets and economic sectors; and
• those who manage and implement the operational activities that are undertaken to gather intelligence.
What are some of the greatest challenges you have faced in order to deal with the terrorist threat?
One area that continues to challenge the organisation is its role in the increasing number of prosecutions for terrorism offences and other legal matters. ASIO must balance its obligation to share its intelligence to secure prosecutions, against the need to protect the often-sensitive sources, methods and technologies that allow ASIO to be effective.
On an administrative level, the implementation of Allan Taylor’s 2005 recommendations for ASIO to grow and meet its responsibilities now and in the future has been a significant focus. Since 2006, ASIO has averaged a total of 170 new staff per year to meet the target of 1860 by 2011 and the implementation of this program in the current security environment has been quite challenging.
Have there been any significant changes to the security threats to Australia outside of terrorism?
With globalisation, and the rise of new communications technologies, there are new opportunities for state agencies to gain covert access to information. But we’ve also seen non-state actors engage in espionage-like activities, not only against governments, but also the private sector. To counter this threat to Australia and Australian interests, the Government has boosted resources devoted to counter-espionage.
What have been some of the biggest challenges for you personally since you have been in this role?
Before taking up my current position, I worked principally in foreign affairs, and was an international adviser to the Prime Minister. I found my experience as a consumer of intelligence particularly valuable because of our deepening engagement with the private sector. It’s clear from my talks with members of the business community that there is strong demand for information that can assist businesses in their assessment of the risks they face. So being able to provide relevant and timely advice in this area, particularly through our subscriber-based Business Liaison website, is especially rewarding.
What is the usual career path to becoming an ASIO Intelligence or other officer? Is this path changing?
All Intelligence Officers have a universitydegree. Many of our officers have worked elsewhere in the public or private sectors. Some come from academic institutions, some straight out of university, and many have had significant careers before they join.
Beyond academic performance and work experience we look for essential personal attributes – emotional maturity and resilience, common sense, an ability to engage with a wide range of people, honesty and integrity, initiative and the like.
Of course not everyone in ASIO is an Intelligence Officer – we need a range of people with other technical and professional skills – including surveillance, various specialist technical areas, human resources, finance, general administrative, linguists, engineers, lawyers, information technology and more.
I suspect there would be very few skill sets that would not be useful in ASIO – it’s all about getting people with the skills we need and the right personal attributes to apply to work for the Organisation.
What kinds of skills are in greatest demand?
Security intelligence is very much a people business so interpersonal skills, combined with a sharp and enquiring mind that has been shaped by a varied life experience are always in demand, particularly for Intelligence Officers but also more broadly in the Organisation. Teamwork skills are highly valued.
Our people need to be effective communicators, both verbally and in writing. For some categories of staff, particularly Intelligence Officers, the ability and willingness to undertake postings that are geographically diverse is a critical element. Applicants need to be Australian citizens and to be able to gain and maintain a top secret national security clearance.
For further information and speeches by the Director-General see www.asio.gov.au
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