The Parliamentary Joint Committee on ASIO - 1988 to 2001

The Committee was first appointed in August 1988, during the 35th Parliament, as the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (the ASIO Committee).

The ASIO Committee had its legislative basis in the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979, which was amended in December 1986 following the then Government's response to the Royal Commission on Australia's Security and Intelligence Agencies, led by Justice Robert Hope. Although Justice Hope had recommended against the establishment of such a parliamentary oversight Committee–instead recommending the appointment of an Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) and existing internal scrutiny measures within the Government–the Government argued that:

...further improvement [to existing oversight and accountability measures] can be obtained by directly involving the Parliament–on both sides and in both Houses–in imposing the discipline of an external scrutiny of the intelligence and security agencies quite independent of the Executive. While the Government has been conscious also of the need to carefully protect intelligence and security information, it believes that appropriate arrangements can be made to ensure that a small but informed parliamentary committee would operate effectively in the public interest.

From its establishment up until the passage of the Intelligence Services Act 2001, the ASIO Committee was dependent on the Minister or a House of the Parliament referring particular matters to it for inquiry. In the 35th Parliament, the ASIO Committee commenced, but did not complete, an inquiry into the effect on ASIO of the access provisions of the Archives Act.

The second ASIO Committee was appointed in the 36th Parliament and completed the inquiry into the operation of the access provisions of the Archives Act with the tabling of a report in April 1992. The Committee also commenced, but did not complete, an inquiry into ASIO's security assessment procedures.

In the 37th Parliament, the Committee completed an inquiry into ASIO's security assessment procedures with the tabling of a report in March 1994. The Committee also began an inquiry into cost recovery practices and ASIO. The inquiry lapsed upon the dissolution of the 37th Parliament.

When the ASIO Committee was reconstituted in the 38th Parliament it resolved to take a new approach to its activities. Instead of conducting inquiries, the Committee built-on the practice adopted in earlier Parliaments of seeking regular, informal briefings from the Director-General of ASIO and the IGIS. During the 38th Parliament the Committee received briefings on various subjects, including security precautions and counter-terrorism arrangements being planned in preparation for the Sydney 2000 Olympics; ASIO's role in monitoring the national security implications of the crisis in the Persian Gulf; corporate restructuring in ASIO; ASIO's data collection and retention safeguards, and procedures for accessing archived ASIO material; and proposed amendments to the ASIO Act.

In the 39th Parliament, the ASIO Committee conducted a review of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Legislation Amendment Bill 1999, followed by an inquiry into the nature, scope and appropriateness of ASIO's public reporting activities. The members of the ASIO Committee in the 39th Parliament also served on the Joint Select Committee on the Intelligence Services that reviewed the Intelligence Services Bill 2001, which received Royal Assent on 1 October 2001.

Parliamentary Joint Committee on ASIO, ASIS and DSD (PJCAAD) - 2002 to 2005

Following the passage of the Intelligence Services Act 2001, the former ASIO Committee was replaced by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on ASIO, ASIS and DSD (PJCAAD). The legislative basis of the Committee was now in the Intelligence Services Act 2001 (the IS Act) and the PJCAAD met for the first time in March 2002, at the beginning of the 40th Parliament.

The IS Act extended the Committee's oversight to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) and the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD, since renamed the Australian Signals Directorate), in addition to its existing oversight of ASIO. The IS Act also tasked the Committee with conducting reviews of the administration and expenditure of the three agencies–for which there would be no need for a reference from a Minister or a House of the Parliament–and with presenting an Annual Report of its activities.

The PJCAAD's first report was an Advisory Report on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Bill 2002. The Committee then tabled its Annual Report for 2001-2002, which incorporated the Committee's first review of administration and expenditure of the three intelligence agencies. Other inquiries completed during the 40th Parliament included a private review of agency security arrangements, an inquiry into intelligence on Iraq's Weapons on Mass Destruction (WMD) and a review of the Intelligence Services Amendment Bill 2003.

In March 2004, a provision was inserted into Part 5.3 of the Criminal Code  enabling the PJCAAD to review any regulation proscribing a "terrorist organisation", as soon as possible after the making of the regulation, and to report the Committee's comments and recommendations to Parliament before the end of the applicable disallowance period (15 sitting days). The Committee's first report using these powers was tabled in June 2004, being a review of the listing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad as a terrorist organisation. The Committee was also required to review, as soon as possible after the third anniversary of the Act's commencement, the operation, effectiveness and implications of the legislation for the proscription of terrorist organisations.

The PJCAAD reviewed the listings of a number of terrorist organisations during the 41st Parliament and conducted annual reviews of the administration and expenditure of ASIO, ASIS and ASD. The Committee also conducted a review of ASIO's questioning and detention powers, as mandated under the IS Act; and reviewed the Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2005, which, among other changes, extended the Committee's oversight mandate to include three additional intelligence agencies.

Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security - 2005 to present

On 2 December 2005, following the passage of the Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Act 2005, the Committee was re-established as the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS).

The Committee now included the Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation (DIGO, since renamed Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation), the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) and the Office of National Assessments (since renamed the Office of National Intelligence ONI) in its oversight role, in addition to ASIO, ASIS and ASD. This change was in response to recommendations of the Inquiry into Australian Intelligence Agencies by Mr Philip Flood AO (the "Flood Inquiry").

During the remainder of the 41st Parliament, the PJCIS conducted a review of four pieces of terrorist-related legislation, as mandated under the IS Act, informed by input from an Independent Security Legislation Review Committee chaired by the Hon Simon Sheller AO QC (the "Sheller Committee"). Amongst other recommendations coming out of its review, the PJCIS recommended the appointment of an independent reviewer of terrorism law in Australia. This recommendation was accepted by the Government and implemented through the appointment of the first Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM) in 2011. As required under the IS Act, the PJCIS also conducted an inquiry during the 41st Parliament into the proscription of terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code.

During the 42nd and 43rd Parliaments, the PJCIS continued to review terrorist organisation listings (and re-listings), conduct annual reviews of the administration and expenditure of the six agencies under its remit, receive private briefings, conduct site inspections and produce annual reports of its activities. In the 43rd Parliament, the Committee additionally conducted an inquiry into a wide range of "potential reforms" to Australia's national security legislation referred by the Attorney-General.

44th Parliament (2013-2016)

The PJCIS's work during the 44th Parliament was characterised by reviews of a series of significant pieces of national security legislation, which included implementation of many of the proposals reviewed in the Committee's inquiry into "potential reforms". The following bills were reviewed by the Committee:

• the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2014,
• the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill 2014,
• the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2014,
• the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014
• the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill 2015, and
• the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2015.

The PJCIS's own role and functions have been extended as a result of recommendations made during these Bill inquiries being adopted. New responsibilities included:

• reviewing proscription under the Criminal Code of 'declared areas' in overseas countries;
• monitoring and reviewing the performance of the Australian Federal Police's (AFP) counter-terrorism functions under Part 5.3 of the Criminal Code;
• reviewing any matters in relation to the retained data activities of the AFP and ASIO set out in their annual reports on the mandatory data retention regime, including (for the first time) reviewing particular operations;
• reviewing any bills in relation to the mandatory data retention regime that;
  • amend the data set required to be retained;
  • amend the organisations required to retain data;
  • amend the organisations authorised to access retained data;
• being notified of certain declarations made in relation to the data retention regime and any Journalist Information Warrants that are issued;
• being provided with any reports produced by the IGIS or the Commonwealth Ombudsman in relation to data retention;
• being notified by the IGIS of any emergency ministerial authorisations given to intelligence agencies under the IS Act;
• reviewing the declaration of any terrorist organisation for the purposes of section 35AA of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007;
• being notified of and briefed on instances where a person's citizenship is lost under sections 33AA, 35 or 35A of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007.

45th Parliament (2016-2019)

The Committee continued to review national security legislation throughout the 45th Parliament and supported the passage of bills which reconfigured the Australian intelligence community, modernised the storage and access of telecommunications data and introduced a national register for persons acting on behalf of foreign principals, including:

• the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 (also known as the Telecommunications Sector Security Reforms):
• the Security of Critical Infrastructure Bill 2017;
• the Home Affairs and Integrity Agencies Legislation Amendment Bill 2017;
• the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 2018;
• the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill 2017;
• the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill 2017;
• the Office of National Intelligence Bill 2018;
• the Office of National Intelligence (Consequential and Transitional) Bill 2018; and
• the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018.

The Committee also completed statutory reviews of existing legislation in relation to ASIO's questioning and detention powers; police stop, search and seizure powers; the control order regime; the preventative detention order regime; and the 'declared area' provisions.

The adoption of recommendations made by PJCIS during these reviews further expanded the Committee's role and functions to include additional responsibilities, such as:

• being notified of the making of any preventative detention orders or prohibited contact orders under Division 105 of the Criminal Code;
• reviewing any changes to rules relating to the authorisation of the Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department to communicate information about the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme;
• reviewing and reporting to Parliament on any area 'declared' under section 119.3 of the Criminal Code at any time prior to the declaration's revocation or cessation; and
• monitoring and reviewing the performance of the AFP's stop, search and seizure powers under Division 3A of Part IAA of the Crimes Act 1914, and the basis of any Ministerial declaration of a 'proscribed security zone' under the provisions.

The Committee was also required under the Intelligence Services Act 2001 and other Acts to conduct additional statutory reviews in future Parliaments of certain pieces of existing national security legislation (see Role of the Committee for details).

The PJCIS concluded the 45th Parliament by exercising its powers under Section 7A of the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Act 2010, to refer a matter for inquiry and report to the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM). The Committee's referral of the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018 to the INSLM in March 2019 was the first such referral in the Committee's history.

In 2017, the Independent Intelligence Review conducted by Mr Michael L'Estrange AO and Mr Stephen Merchant PSM made several recommendations regarding the future role of the Committee. These included amendments to legislation to:

• expand the Committee's oversight role to apply to all ten agencies of the National Intelligence Community (NIC), with oversight of the AFP, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission limited to their intelligence functions;
• enable the Committee to request the IGIS to conduct an inquiry into the legality and propriety of particular operational activities of the NIC agencies, and to provide a report to the Committee, Prime Minister and the responsible Minister;
• enable the Committee to review proposed reforms to counter-terrorism and national security legislation, and to review all such expiring legislation;
• allow the Committee to initiate its own inquiries into the administration and expenditure of the ten intelligence agencies of the NIC as well as proposed or existing provisions in counter-terrorism and national security law, and to review all such expiring legislation;
• enable the Committee to request a briefing from the INSLM, to ask the INSLM to provide the Committee with the outcome of their inquiries into existing legislation at the same time as the INSLM provides such reports to the responsible Minister; and
• require the Committee to be regularly briefed by the Director-General of ONI, and separately by the IGIS.

46^th Parliament (2019 - 2022)

The increasing workload of the Committee was reflected in the fact that it undertook 44 reviews and inquiries and tabled reports on 38 of these in the 46th Parliament.

The Committee reviewed a range of proposed new or amended national security legislation, presenting advisory reports on 12 Bills:

• Identity-matching Services Bill 2019 and Australian Passports Amendment (Identity-matching Services) Bill 2019
• Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (International Production Orders) Bill 2020
• Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020
• Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2020
• Intelligence Oversight and Other Legislation Amendment (Integrity Measures) Bill 2020
• Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (2019 Measures No.1) Bill 2019 and Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment  (High Risk Terrorist Offenders) Bill 2020
• Foreign Intelligence Legislation Amendment Bill 2021
• National Security Legislation Amendment (Comprehensive Review and Other Measures No.1) Bill 2021
• Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure) Bill 2020 and Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure Protection) Bill 2022

Reviews of two other Bills were not completed and lapsed at the end of the Parliament.

In addition, the Committee continued to undertake its statutory roles of reviewing the administration and expenditure of National Intelligence Community agencies, reviewing the listing and re-listing of terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code, and undertaking various statutory reviews of existing national security and intelligence powers. Key statutory reviews included:

• review of the renunciation by conduct and cessation provisions in the Australian Citizenship Act 2007
• review of 'declared areas' provisions in the Criminal Code
• review of police powers in relation to terrorism, the control order regime, the preventative detention order regime and the continuing detention order regime
• review of the Telecommunications Sector Security Reforms and the mandatory data retention regime

Two statutory reviews – relating to Temporary Exclusion Orders and the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme – were commenced but not finalised in the 46th Parliament.

The Committee conducted three broader policy inquiries, referred by relevant Ministers, in the 46th Parliament:

• Inquiry into the impact of the exercise of law enforcement and intelligence powers on the freedom of the press: report tabled 26 August 2020;
• Inquiry into national security risks affecting the Australian higher education and research sector - report tabled 25 March 2022 ; and    
• Inquiry into extremist movements and radicalism in Australia –  interim report tabled 1 April 2022, recommending that the inquiry be re-referred to the Committee in the 47th Parliament.    

Report of the Comprehensive Review of the Legal Framework of the National Intelligence Community

In December 2020 the review of the legal framework governing the National Intelligence Community undertaken by Mr Dennis Richardson AC (the Richardson Review) was published. The Review made several recommendations regarding the future role of the Committee in relation to various matters, including reference of operational activities to the IGIS for inquiry, reviewing intelligence agencies’ privacy rules, and receiving annual briefings on agencies’ artificial intelligence-based capabilities.

In its 2020-21 Annual Report, presented in September 2021, the Committee recommended that the parts of the Intelligence Services Act 2001 which govern the work of the committee should be referred to the PJCIS for inquiry at the commencement of the 47th Parliament.