Australian Intelligence Community - Governance Entities

Governance Entities

The National Security Committee (NSC) is a Cabinet committee and the peak ministerial decision-making body on national security matters. It is chaired by the Prime Minister and the membership includes the Deputy Prime Minister, Attorney-General, Treasurer, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Defence and Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. The Secretaries for each respective public service department as well as the Chief of the Defence Force, the National Security Adviser, the Director-General of Security and the Director General of the Office of National Assessments and the Australian Secret Intelligence Service.

The Secretaries Committee on National Security (SCNS) is the senior inter-departmental committee supporting the National Security Committee. It considers all matters to be put before the NSC and has a strong role in ensuring that Australia maintains a coordinated policy approach on all national security issues. It is chaired by the National Security Adviser, and the membership contains all non-ministerial positions and secretaries of the departments of the National Security Committee, plus the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, the Commander of the Border Protection Command and the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and the Australian Crime Commission.

The National Counter-Terrorism Committee (NCTC) is a national body comprising representatives from the Government of the Commonwealth, States and Territories. It was established by the Inter-Governmental Agreement 24 October 2002. The role of the NCTC is to contribute to the security of the Australian community through coordination of a nation-wide cooperative framework, known as the National Counter-Terrorism Plan, to counter terrorism and its consequences. The committee now meets twice a year with representatives from the Australian Government and state and territory governments.

The National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC) is to ensure that Australia's foreign, security and law enforcement intelligence activities are closely aligned and consistent with our national security priorities, and that the national intelligence effort is effectively integrated. It is chaired by the National Security Adviser and contains representation from all intelligence and security agencies.

• The National Intelligence Collection Management Committee (NICMC) is a subcommittee of the National Intelligence Coordination Committee and is responsible for setting specific requirements and evaluating collection effort against each of the National Intelligence Priorities (NIPs). It is chaired by the Director General of the Office of National Assessments.

• The National Intelligence Open Source Committee (NIOSC) is a subcommittee of the National Intelligence Coordination Committee and is responsible for enhancing the coordination and capabilities of the national intelligence community’s open source efforts. It is chaired by the Director General of the Office of National Assessments.

The Heads of Intelligence Agencies Meeting (HIAM) brings together a sub-group of the all the national intelligence agencies comprising to consider issues relating specifically to Australia’s foreign intelligence activities. It is chaired by the Director General of the Office of National Assessments and the Deputy Secretary for Defence Intelligence, Security and International Policy attends.