ONA was established by the Office of National Assessments (ONA) Act 1977 as an independent body directly accountable to the Prime Minister. 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. The Director-General of ONA is an independent statutory officer who is not subject to external direction on the content of ONA assessments.

ONA bases its assessments on information available to the Australian Government from all sources, both inside and outside the Government. It draws on information provided by other intelligence agencies, as well as diplomatic reporting, information and reporting from other government agencies, and material available from open sources such as news media and publications. ONA also consults broadly within government and with experts in other sectors.

In April 2005, the Open Source Branch (OSB) was incorporated into ONA. The role of the Open Source Branch is to collect and validate open sources and produce value-added open-source intelligence reports for ONA and other Australian and allied government agencies.

In addition to setting out ONA’s assessment function, the ONA Act charges ONA with responsibility for co-ordinating Australia’s foreign intelligence activities and issues of common interest among Australia’s foreign intelligence agencies. ONA is also responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of Australia’s foreign intelligence effort and the adequacy of its resourcing.

You may like to download the Australian Intelligence Community brochure which provides more information on ONA, our role and oversight of our activities.

ONA has privacy guidelines in place that relate to the communication or retention by ONA of intelligence information about Australian persons. The guidelines were developed in consultation with the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. A copy of the guidelines can be found here.

What is the Office of National Assessments?

The Office of National Assessments (ONA) is an agency of around 145 staff and reports directly to the Prime Minister. ONA provides all-source assessments on international political, strategic and economic developments to the Prime Minister, senior ministers in the National Security Committee of Cabinet, and senior officials of government departments. ONA operates under its own legislation. ONA also has responsibility for coordinating and evaluating Australia's foreign intelligence activities. The Director-General of ONA is an independent statutory officer who is not subject to external direction on the content of ONA assessments.

Is ONA an Intelligence Agency?

Yes, ONA is an intelligence agency in that it is responsible for assessment of intelligence - from all sources available to the government. As is the case with most other countries, the Australian Government protects its national security in various ways, including through the collection and assessment of intelligence on other countries and on international developments. Some of the means used for acquiring this intelligence are secret and, because of this, assessments drawing on this intelligence need to be handled in a confidential manner. ONA does not itself covertly collect information on the Australian Government's behalf. ONA staff are employed for the most part under the Public Service Act as ongoing (permanent) or non-ongoing (contract) employees, or on secondment from other government agencies. Their engagement and identity are not secret.

Who works as an analyst in ONA?

ONA's analysts come from a range of backgrounds and are specialists in their field which could be of a particular country or region or of thematic issues such as transnational or strategic issues. The employment backgrounds of ONA staff include other parts of the Australian Public Service, academic institutions, the Australian Defence Force and the private sector. All jobs in the Office are open equally to men and women.

What qualifications do you need to work as an analyst in ONA?

ONA analysts are expected to have tertiary qualifications and many hold higher degrees. While ONA recruits a small number of junior analysts, linguists and research officers each year, for analysts the more usual pattern is to have work experience that will be useful to the Office. For instance, an economic analyst might previously have worked in a government department or the private sector. An applicant for a vacancy as a political/strategic analyst might have gained experience of a particular geographic region as the result of studying that region or through having worked there.

While an economics degree is the usual prerequisite for an economic analyst, the academic backgrounds of political/strategic analysts are diverse, with graduates holding humanities, social sciences or perhaps pure science degrees, with a wide range of majors.

What do ONA analysts do?

Broadly, ONA analysts use information from all sources - including the full spectrum of public sources and government material - to assess the significance of international developments for the Australian Government. They analyse issues and developments and prepare assessments for Prime Minister and senior ministers. All ONA reports are issued under the authority of its Director-General, who has statutory independence. ONA does not make recommendations on policy, but its reports are relevant to policy and part of the policy process.

What do you gain from working for ONA?

Working in ONA provides an opportunity to prepare material that goes direct to the Prime Minister and senior ministers. On international crises or other major overseas developments of concern to Australia, ONA is one of the principal organisations reporting to the Prime Minister. This is done in close conjunction with organisations such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Defence.

Overseas travel is a regular feature of analysts' duties, to broaden their knowledge of the issues for which they are responsible within the Office. In terms of career development, many ONA analysts move to Commonwealth agencies such as the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Department of Defence after a period of employment with ONA.

Can ONA analysts discuss their work outside the office?

ONA analysts consult widely with others who have specialist knowledge both within and outside the Australian government so as to be well-informed. However, ONA staff may discuss classified material only with appropriately cleared people who have a need to know.

ONA's work is usually circulated to others in the government with appropriate clearances, but is not available for distribution outside these areas. So analysts have to accept that they cannot publish on areas for which they have responsibility within ONA.

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