The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security is an independent statutory office-holder who is appointed by the Governor-General under the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986 (IGIS Act).
The role of the Inspector-General is to assist ministers in overseeing and reviewing the activities of the 10 agencies that make up the National Intelligence Community (NIC agencies) for legality, propriety and consistency with human rights. The Inspector-General is supported in their role by officials who collectively comprise the Office of the Inspector-General (the OIGIS).
We provide independent assurance for the Prime Minister, senior Ministers, Parliament and the public as to whether the NIC agencies are acting in accordance with these principles. We do this by undertaking regular, proactive inspections into the NIC agencies, and inquiring into and reporting on their activities. The Inspector-General provides independent and impartial reports to Ministers and the parliament.
Who we oversee
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986 establishes that the following intelligence agencies are under IGIS jurisdiction:
In addition, the intelligence functions of the following agencies:
Independence
The Inspector-General and the OIGIS are not part of any intelligence or security agency. The OIGIS is independent and is funded, staffed and administered separately.
As an independent statutory office holder, the Inspector-General is not subject to general direction from the Attorney-General, or other Ministers, on how they carry out their responsibilities under the IGIS Act. This ensures the integrity of IGIS inspections and inquiries and is fundamental to IGIS’s independence and approach to scrutiny of NIC agencies.
Under the IGIS Act, the Inspector-General can initiate inquiries of their own motion – that is, they can independently decide to inquire into a matter regarding the activities of a NIC agency and decide how that inquiry is conducted.
Ministers with responsibility for NIC agencies may request the Inspector-General to conduct inquiries into a matter relating to that agency. The Prime Minister may request the Inspector-General to conduct an inquiry into an intelligence or security matter relating to any Commonwealth agency, not just the NIC agencies within IGIS’ jurisdiction.
Our Structure
