Foreword

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has evolved substantially since its beginnings in 1988 as the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Over time the remit of the PJCIS has expanded, firstly in 2005 to include the agencies of the then-Australian Intelligence Community (AIC) and more recently to cover certain matters relating to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Further expansions have been considered under the 2017 Independent Intelligence Review (the IIR) and the 2019 Comprehensive Review of the Legal Framework of the National Intelligence Community (the Richardson Review). As the scope of the PJCIS has expanded, so has the workload before it.
The national security challenges facing Australia are unprecedented. The Committee’s workload is evidence to this point as the challenges of foreign interference, extremism and cyber security remain at a high level.
The Committee, like the rest of the Australian community, has continued to adapt to the challenges brought on by COVID-19. The Committee’s workload has increased substantially throughout this period but due to the efficiency and responsiveness of Committee members and the relevant agencies the Committee’s workload has been able to be progressed.
These challenges of both increasing scope of the PJCIS and the greatest workload it has ever faced means renewed attention is required to the Intelligence Services Act 2001 (the IS Act) which binds the Committee, as well as the Committee’s ability to regularly access classified briefing facilities to carry out its work.
Senator James PatersonHon Anthony Byrne MP
ChairDeputy Chair
September 2021September 2021

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About this inquiry

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security is required to table an annual report of its activities under section 31 of the Intelligence Services Act 2001, which states:
As soon as practicable after each year ending on 30 June, the Committee must give to the Parliament a report on the activities of the Committee during the year.