Office of National Assessments

The Office of National Assessments (ONA) is an Australian intelligence agency. ONA was established by the Office of National Assessments Act 1977 as an independent body directly accountable to the Prime Minister of Australia. ONA provides all-source assessments on international political, strategic and economic developments to the Prime Minister and senior ministers in the National Security Committee of Cabinet. It also coordinates and evaluates the work and performance of Australia’s foreign intelligence agencies. ONA is not an intelligence collection agency.

ONA is in the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio of the Australian Public Service. Its financial framework is governed by the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act).

Locations

In October 2011, ONA moved into the Robert Marsden Hope Building, a refurbished building in the Parliamentary Triangle.^[2] The building is named for Justice Hope, who led two Royal Commissions into Australia's intelligence and security agencies and operations, the first of which led to the creation of ONA.^[3] Before its move, ONA had been a sub-tenant in the Central Office building of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in Russell, Canberra.

The Director-General of ONA is an independent statutory officer who is not subject to external direction on the content of ONA assessments. ONA has about 150 staff, including 100 analysts. The current Director-General of ONA is Allan Gyngell, a distinguished Australian diplomat, former senior advisor to former Prime Minister Paul Keating, and founder of the Lowy Institute.

Role

The Office of National Assessments is not a producer of intelligence; it collates intelligence data generated by DIO, ASIS, ASIO, DIGO and DSD to create analytical products. The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is the primary consumer of these products, which are designed to assist the Australian Government in strategic decision making and ensure that government is fully briefed on emergent threats both in the region and globally. Its independence from the Defence and Foreign Affairs portfolios is a deliberate attempt to generate balanced and fair analysis.

In the media

Although not a secret organisation, ONA usually attracts little attention. However, a striking exception occurred in 2001 when the former Prime Minister, John Howard, publicly relied upon an ONA assessment to support his claims about asylum seekers on the MV Tampa, in an incident which became known as the "Tampa affair". The ONA assessment was later leaked to the public in its entirety, showing that the assessment was ultimately based on nothing more than press releases from various government ministers.

In 2003, in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, an ONA intelligence officer named Andrew Wilkie resigned from the agency, citing ethical concerns in relation to selective and exaggerated use of intelligence by the Australian Government on the matter of Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.

Flood report

ONA has experienced substantial growth since the release of the report into intelligence agencies by Philip Flood which recommended a doubling of the agency's budget and staffing resources and formalisation of the agency's role as a coordinator and evaluator of the other Australian foreign intelligence agencies. The only ONA specific recommendation not implemented from the Flood report was the renaming of ONA to the Australian Foreign Intelligence Assessment Agency (AFIAA).^[4]

Branches

The ONA is divided into branches: Atlantic Branch; Corporate and I.T. Services; Executive & Foreign Intelligence Coordination; International Economy Branch; South Asia & Middle East Branch; North Asia Branch; Oceania Branch; Open Source Centre; Southeast Asia Branch; Strategic Analysis Branch; Transnational Issues Branch.^[5]

Directors-General of the Office of National Assessments

• Robert Furlonger (1977–1981)
• Michael Cook (1981–1989)
• Geoff Miller (1989–1995)
• Philip Flood (1995–1996)
• Richard Smith (1996–1998)
• Kim Jones (1998–2003)
• Peter Varghese (2004–2009)
• Allan Gyngell (2009–2013)
• Richard Maude (2013–present)

See also

• Australian intelligence agencies
• National Assessments Bureau (New Zealand)

References

External links

• Office of National Assessments home page
• Report of the Inquiry into Australian Intelligence Agencies (The Flood Report)
• Open Australia Search: Parliamentary records mentioning ONA.

Australian Intelligence Community Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Australian Secret Intelligence Service Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation Australian Signals Directorate Office of National Assessments Defence Intelligence Organisation