Australian Signals Directorate

Australian Signals Directorate

Logo of the Directorate
Slogan: Reveal their secrets ... Protect our own
Agency overview
Formed	12 November 1947; 76 years ago (1947-11-12)
Jurisdiction	Commonwealth of Australia
Headquarters	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia 35°17′43″S 149°08′55″E / 35.2952°S 149.1487°E / -35.2952; 149.1487
Employees	1,900 (14 September 2017)[1]
Minister responsible	Richard Marles, Minister for Defence
Agency executive	Rachel Noble, Director-General (As of February 2020[update])
Parent agency	Department of Defence
Website	www.asd.gov.au

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Laws
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Proposed changes
U.S. FISA Improvements Act Other proposals
Concepts
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Related topics
Espionage Intelligence agency Cryptography Tor VPNs TLS Human rights Privacy Liberty Satellites Stop Watching Us Nothing to hide argument
v t e

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), formerly the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD), is the federal statutory agency in the Australian Government responsible for foreign signals intelligence, support to military operations, cyber warfare, and information security. ASD is part of the Australian Intelligence Community. ASD's role within UKUSA Agreement (Five Eyes) is to monitor signals intelligence ("SIGINT") in South and East Asia. The ASD also houses the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

The unit was established in 1947 by executive order as the Defence Signals Bureau within the Department of Defence, and underwent several name changes until its current name ASD was adopted in 2013. ASD was converted to a statutory body by the Intelligence Services Act 2001. ASD is based in Canberra, at the Defence Department Headquarters at Russell Offices.^[2] As of February 2020, Rachel Noble is the Director-General of ASD, replacing Mike Burgess, who was appointed Director-General of Security in September 2019.

In April 2018, a proposal to empower ASD to collect intelligence on Australians was backed by former Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton, but was strongly opposed by some in Cabinet who argued it was not necessary.^[3] Under legislation, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are already allowed to seek assistance from ASD in conducting investigations on Australian citizens and businesses.^[3]