On 21 March 2025 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released the unclassified report of the 2024 Independent Intelligence Review.
The review was announced in September 2023 to ensure our intelligence agencies are best positioned to continue to serve the Australian national interest.
Dr Heather Smith PSM and Mr Richard Maude led the review and consulted widely, including through public submissions. They found agencies have been successful in protecting Australia’s national interest.
The review recommends investing in further capability to ensure the intelligence community maintains its high performance across a range of fronts, including economic security, crisis warning and preparedness, and open source intelligence.
The Government will invest $44.6 million over four years from 2025-26 in the Office of National Intelligence to support initial implementation of key priorities identified in the response to the review.
The review also found significant progress had been made since the last Independent Intelligence Review in 2017. This progress includes establishing the National Intelligence Community and creating the Office of National Intelligence to lead and coordinate the community.
Independent reviews of Australia’s intelligence community have been commissioned periodically since 2004 to ensure Australia can effectively meet and respond to future challenges.
The unclassified report is available at 2024 Independent Intelligence Review.