Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986

Subject to this section, the functions of the Inspector‑General in relation to ASIO are:

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, of the Inspector‑General’s own motion or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General, to inquire into any matter that relates to:

the compliance by ASIO with the laws of the Commonwealth and of the States and Territories; or

the compliance by ASIO with directions or guidelines given to ASIO by the responsible Minister; or

the propriety of particular activities of ASIO; or

the effectiveness and appropriateness of the procedures of ASIO relating to the legality or propriety of the activities of ASIO; or

an act or practice of ASIO that is or may be inconsistent with or contrary to any human right, that constitutes or may constitute discrimination, or that is or may be unlawful under the Age Discrimination Act 2004, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into the procedures of ASIO relating to redress of grievances of ASIO employees and ASIO affiliates; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, to inquire into the action (if any) that should be taken to protect the rights of a person who is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident (within the meaning of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979) if:

ASIO has furnished a report to a Commonwealth agency (within the meaning of that Act) that may result in the taking of action that is adverse to the interests of the person; and

the report could not be reviewed by the Intelligence and Security jurisdictional area of the Administrative Review Tribunal;

if the responsible Minister has given a direction to ASIO on the question whether:

the collection of intelligence concerning a particular individual is, or is not, justified by reason of its relevance to security; or

the communication of intelligence concerning a particular individual would be for a purpose relevant to security;

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into any matter that may relate to compliance by ASIO with the positive duty in relation to sex discrimination.

Subject to this section, the functions of the Inspector‑General in relation to ASIS, AGO or ASD are:

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, of the Inspector‑General’s own motion or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General by a person who is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident (within the meaning of the Intelligence Services Act 2001), to inquire into any matter that relates to:

the compliance by that agency with the laws of the Commonwealth and of the States and Territories; or

the compliance by that agency with directions or guidelines given to that agency by the responsible Minister; or

the propriety of particular activities of that agency; or

an act or practice of that agency that is or may be inconsistent with or contrary to any human right, that constitutes or may constitute discrimination, or that is or may be unlawful under the Age Discrimination Act 2004, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into the procedures of that agency relating to redress of grievances of employees of that agency; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into the effectiveness and appropriateness of the procedures of that agency relating to the legality or propriety of the activities of that agency; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into any matter that may relate to compliance by ASIS, AGO or ASD with the positive duty in relation to sex discrimination.

Subject to this section, the functions of the Inspector‑General in relation to DIO or ONI are:

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General by a person who is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, to inquire into any matter that relates to:

the compliance by that agency with the laws of the Commonwealth and of the States and Territories; or

the compliance by that agency with directions or guidelines given to that agency by the responsible Minister; or

the propriety of particular activities of that agency; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into any matter that relates to the effectiveness and appropriateness of the procedures of that agency relating to the legality or propriety of the activities of that agency; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General by a person who is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, to inquire into any matter that relates to an act or practice of that agency:

that is or may be inconsistent with or contrary to any human right; or

that constitutes or may constitute discrimination; or

that is or may be unlawful under the Age Discrimination Act 2004, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into any matter that relates to the procedures of that agency relating to redress of grievances of employees of that agency; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into any matter in relation to the statutory independence of ONI; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into any matter that may relate to compliance by DIO or ONI with the positive duty in relation to sex discrimination.

In subsection (3), permanent resident has the same meaning as in:

if the agency is DIO—the Intelligence Services Act 2001; and

if the agency is ONI—the Office of National Intelligence Act 2018.

Subject to this section, the functions of the Inspector‑General in relation to AFP, AUSTRAC or the Department of Home Affairs are:

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister; or

of the Inspector‑General’s own motion; or

in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General;

the compliance by that agency with the laws of the Commonwealth and of the States and Territories;

the compliance by that agency with directions or guidelines given to that agency by the responsible Minister;

the propriety of particular activities of that agency;

the effectiveness and appropriateness of the procedures of that agency relating to the legality or propriety of the activities of that agency;

any matter that relates to an act or practice of that agency:

that is or may be inconsistent with or contrary to any human right; or

that constitutes or may constitute discrimination; or

that is or may be unlawful under the Age Discrimination Act 2004, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.

Subject to this section, the functions of the Inspector‑General in relation to ACIC are:

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General, to inquire into any matter that relates to:

the compliance by that agency with the laws of the Commonwealth and of the States and Territories; or

the compliance by that agency with directions or guidelines given to that agency by the responsible Minister; or

the propriety of particular activities of that agency; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General, to inquire into any matter that relates to the effectiveness and appropriateness of the procedures of that agency relating to the legality or propriety of the activities of that agency; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General, to inquire into any matter that relates to an act or practice of that agency:

that is or may be inconsistent with or contrary to any human right; or

that constitutes or may constitute discrimination; or

that is or may be unlawful under the Age Discrimination Act 2004, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into any matter that relates to the procedures of that agency relating to redress of grievances of employees of that agency; and

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, or in response to a complaint made to the Inspector‑General, to inquire into the compliance by that agency with:

directions or guidelines given to that agency; or

policies or other decisions made;

at the request of the Attorney‑General or the responsible Minister, or of the Inspector‑General’s own motion, to inquire into any matter that may relate to compliance by that agency with the positive duty in relation to sex discrimination.

The functions of the Inspector‑General under subsections (1), (2), (3), (3A) and (4) do not include inquiring into a matter to which a complaint to the Inspector‑General made by an employee of AGO, DIO, ACIC, AFP, AUSTRAC, the Department of Home Affairs or by a Public Service Act ONI employee relates to the extent that the matter is directly related to:

the promotion, termination of appointment, discipline or remuneration of the employee by the agency; or

another matter relating to the agency’s employment of the employee.

The functions of the Inspector‑General under subsections (3A) and (4) do not include inquiring into a matter to which a complaint to the Inspector‑General relates, to the extent that:

the complaint is made by a person performing functions or services for ACIC, AFP, AUSTRAC or the Department of Home Affairs in accordance with a contract, agreement or other arrangement; and

the matter is directly related to:

the contract, agreement or other arrangement; or

the performance of functions or services by the person under the contract, agreement or other arrangement, except in relation to the legality or propriety of the performance of the functions or services.

The functions of the Inspector‑General include inquiring into a matter to which a complaint to the Inspector‑General made by an ASIO employee, an ASIS employee, an ONI Act employee or an ASD employee relates to the extent that the matter is directly related to:

the promotion, termination of appointment, discipline or remuneration of the employee by ASIO, ASIS, ONI or ASD; or

another matter relating to the employment of the employee by ASIO, ASIS, ONI or ASD.

However, the Inspector‑General must not inquire into a matter referred to in subsection (6) to the extent that the employee can have the matter reviewed by a body constituted by, or including, persons other than:

for an ASIO employee—the Director‑General of Security or ASIO employees; and

for an ASIS employee—the Director‑General of ASIS or ASIS employees; and

for an ONI Act employee:

the Director‑General of National Intelligence; or

ONI Act employees; or

Public Service Act ONI employees; and

for an ASD employee—the Director‑General of ASD or ASD employees.

See also subsection 11(5) for when the Inspector‑General may decide not to inquire into a matter referred to in subsection (6) of this section.

The functions of the Inspector‑General include inquiring into a matter to which a complaint to the Inspector‑General made by an ASIO affiliate relates to the extent that the matter is related to:

the contract, agreement or other arrangement under which the ASIO affiliate is performing functions or services for ASIO; or

the performance of functions or services by the ASIO affiliate under the contract, agreement or other arrangement.

However, the Inspector‑General may decide not to inquire into a matter referred to in subsection (8) if the Inspector‑General is satisfied that the ASIO affiliate can have the matter reviewed by a body constituted by, or including, persons other than the Director‑General of Security or ASIO employees.

See also subsection 11(6) for when the Inspector‑General may decide not to inquire into a matter referred to in subsection (8) of this section.

The Inspector‑General may perform functions conferred on the Inspector‑General by another Act.