Spy chief warns Australia facing greater security challenges

The head of Australia’s domestic intelligence agency ASIO has warned that the country will face greater threats from espionage, foreign interference and potentially sabotage over the next five years.

In his annual threat assessment, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess warned that multiple countries were “relentlessly seeking information” about Australia’s military capabilities.

“Defence personnel are being targeted in person and online. Some were recently given gifts by international counterparts. The presents contained concealed surveillance devices.”

The AUKUS alliance of Australia, the US and Britain, would remain a “priority target for intelligence collection, including by countries we consider friendly,” Burgess said.

He warned a “small number of authoritarian regimes” were behaving more aggressively, recklessly and dangerously.

“If the spy game has a rule book, it is being rewritten. If there are red lines, they are being blurred – or deliberately rubbed out.”

At least three different countries had plotted to harm people living in Australia, Burgess said.

In one case, a foreign intelligence service wanted to trick a human rights activist to visit a third country.

“They planned to arrange an ‘accident’ that was anything but accidental, with the objective of seriously injuring or even killing the activist,” Burgess said.

“Fortunately, ASIO intervened to stop the travel and foil the plot before it occurred.”

In 2023, intelligence indicated a different hostile foreign intelligence service wanted to harm and possibly kill one or more individuals on Australian soil, he said.

“It goes without saying that plots like these are repugnant. They not only involve plans to hurt people – obviously bad enough – they are shocking assaults on Australian sovereignty and the freedoms we hold dear.”