Albanese set to overhaul spy agencies in wake of classified report
A review of Australia’s spy agencies handed to the government is expected to call for measures to handle disruptive technologies such as AI, and the explosion of open source intelligence.
The Albanese government is preparing an overhaul of the nation’s spy agencies after being handed a classified report from former senior intelligence officials Heather Smith and Richard Maude.
Capital Brief can reveal that Smith and Maude recently provided their Independent Intelligence Review to the government, which is now considering the recommendations made in the report. A declassified version of the report will be released in coming months when the government unveils its response.
The review is expected to boost the Office of National Intelligence's role as the intelligence community's chief coordinator and address concerns over artificial intelligence and the explosion of "open source" intelligence.
Smith is a former secretary of the Department of Communications and the Arts and deputy director-general in the Office of National Assessments (ONA), while Maude is a former director-general of ONA and deputy secretary in DFAT.
