The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security is an independent statutory office-holder who is appointed by the Governor-General under the IGIS Act.
The role of the Inspector-General is to assist ministers in overseeing and reviewing the activities of the six Australian intelligence agencies under IGIS jurisdiction for legality, propriety and consistency with human rights.
We provide independent assurance for the Prime Minister, senior Ministers, Parliament and the public as to whether the intelligence agencies are acting in accordance with these principles. We do this by undertaking regular, proactive inspections into the intelligence 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 Surveillance Legislation (Identify and Disrupt) Act 2021 expanded IGIS’s jurisdiction to include oversight of the use of network activity warrants by the following agencies:
Independence
The Inspector-General and the Office of the IGIS are not part of any intelligence or security agency. The Office 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 intelligence 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 an intelligence agency and decide how that inquiry is conducted.
Ministers with responsibility for an Australian intelligence agency 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 intelligence agencies within IGIS’ jurisdiction.
Our Structure
