Multiple failures found in ASIO’s secret operations, some based on typos 

ASIO spies have been slammed after systemic failures were uncovered in multiple areas of their secret operations. 

Australia’s spies have been slammed after significant compliance failings were uncovered including in the “planning and execution” of a covert operation involving multi-agency foreign intelligence gathering.

So significant are their failings even Australia’s Five Eyes spy partners have raised concerns because ASIO can’t get back to them with critical detail on foreign fighters operating in Syria.

The Americans and British spy agencies shouldn’t feel too bad though, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Attorney-General Christian Porter also can’t get what they want out of their spooks.

Giving evidence to a Senate committee, Inspector General of Intelligence and Security Justice Margaret Stone flagged just one ASIO operation that while complicated, the failures were significant and potentially systemic.

“We found significant problems with the planning and execution of the operation,” Justice Stone told the Senate estimates hearing.

“Most of them stem from weaknesses in ASIO’s compliance arrangement which became apparent when we looked at this very complicated operation which was technologically challenging.

Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton leaves a television studio at Parliament House.

“(we) concluded there was a likelihood this problem would arise again perhaps in a different form unless these systemic problems were addressed. It involved some problems of poor communication between lawyers and operational officers not quite understanding quite what each other needed to know. It involved training of ASIO affiliates and so on.”

But that was the least of ASIO problems with multiple failures including taking up to four years to complete a visa assessment with ASIO claiming “staffing issues” also detected.

In her annual report, tabled to parliament, the domestic spy group was also found to have had deficiencies in record keeping “in almost all areas inspected in ASIO during the reporting period”.

ASIO was also found to have breached three times the Telecommunications (Interceptions and Access Act) including by intercepting the wrong telephone number and spying on someone else’s telecommunications service without a warrant. On another instance they had a warrant but dodged legislative reporting to the Attorney-General by continuing the warrant access long after they had advised the office.

Spies failed to follow their own “tradecraft policies” and typographical errors on warrants which while many were minor were flagged as potentially leading to further breaches. On four instances ASIO advised instances of “over collection” of an innocent member of the public’s private business and were forced to delete “non-target interceptions”.

ASIO’s interpretation of the law also conflicted with the view of the courts, they illegally retained metadata not even relevant to security and did not even follow up on requests by Five Eyes spy partners related to suspects involved in the Syria conflict.

Critically, it was failing to advise the Attorney-General and Home Affairs Minister of critical information related to national security and adverse assessment certificates placed on individuals.

The annual report concluded: “It is disappointing that ASIO has shown no improvement in remedying breaches of this kind, despite instituting new procedures. At the conclusion of the current reporting period ASIO’s processes and procedures remain deficient in this respect.”

In one visa application assessment referred to ASIO in 2013 still had not been finalised by November 2017.