Office of National Intelligence

Australian government body, 1977-

Not to be confused with Office of Naval Intelligence.

Office of National Intelligence

Office overview
Formed| 20 December 2018 (2018-12-20)
Preceding office|

*     * Office of National Assessments
* DPMC intelligence activities

Jurisdiction| Australian Government
Headquarters| Robert Marsden Hope Building, Canberra
Minister responsible|

* Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister

Office executives|

* Andrew Shearer, Director-General[1]
* Nina Davidson, Deputy Director-General
* Paul Taloni, Chief Intelligence Scientist

Parent department| Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Website| oni.gov.au

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.[2][3][4] The ONI is directly accountable to the Prime Minister of Australia as a portfolio agency of the Department 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

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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.[5][6] 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.[7]

The Office of National Intelligence is based in the Hope Building, on National Circuit in the Australian Capital Territory.

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 its facilities in the Robert Marsden Hope Building.[8] The expanded role of the agency includes the strategic development and enterprise management of the National Intelligence Community.[9][10] 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.[11][12] ONI was formally stood up on the 20 December 2018.[13]

## Role

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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:[14]

* convening and chairing the National Intelligence Coordination Committee and a proposed Intelligence Integration Board;
* Proposing the establishment of a 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[clarification needed].

## See also

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* Australian Intelligence Community
* United States Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research
* United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence
* New Zealand National Assessments Bureau
* United Kingdom Cabinet Office Joint Intelligence Organisation

## References

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1. ^ "Our leadership team". Office of National Intelligence. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
2. ^ 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
3. ^ "A Strong and Secure Australia". Prime Minister of Australia. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
4. ^ Office of National Intelligence Office of National Intelligence (Australia)
5. ^ National Archives of Australia Archived 5 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine Records of the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security
6. ^ Gyngell, A. and Wesley, M. (2003) Making Australian Foreign Policy. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. (page 146)
7. ^ Office of National Assessments Archived 22 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine History of the ONA
8. ^ Dobell, Graeme (27 August 2017). "Oz intelligence review: the Justice Hope legacy". The Strategist. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
9. ^ 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
10. ^ "A Strong and Secure Australia". Prime Minister of Australia. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
11. ^ "Maintaining a Strong and Secure Australia" Archived 24 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Prime Minister of Australia press release, 1 December 2017
12. ^ "Malcolm Turnbull names spy chief Nick Warner to lead new security agency" The Canberra Times, 1 December 2017
13. ^ Office of National Intelligence Office of National Intelligence (Australia)
14. ^ 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

## External links

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* Office of National Intelligence
* 2017 Independent Review of the Australian Intelligence Community

* v
* t
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Australian Intelligence Community

Agencies|

* Office of National Intelligence
* Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
* Australian Secret Intelligence Service
* Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation
* Australian Signals Directorate
* Australian Cyber Security Centre
* Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap
* Defence Intelligence Organisation
* Australian Federal Police
* Department of Home Affairs
* Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
* Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre

Coordination|

* National Security Committee of Cabinet
* Secretaries Committee on National Security
* National Intelligence Coordination Committee

Policy|

* Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
* Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
* Department of Defence (Defence Strategic Policy and Intelligence Group)

Oversight|

* Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
* Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security
* Independent National Security Legislation Monitor
* Attorney-General's Department

Legislation|

* Intelligence Services Act 2001
* Intelligence Services Amendment Act 2004

Military|

* Australian Special Forces
* Australian Army Intelligence Corps
* 6th Brigade
* 7th Signal Regiment
* 1st Intelligence Battalion

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