Department of Home Affairs | Departments/Agencies

Home Affairs ordered to pay asylum seekers over data breach

By Shannon Jenkins

Federal

Compensation ranging from $500 to more than $20,000 would be paid on a case-by-case basis, and would be assessed using five categories of loss or…

Chris Moraitis departs secretary role to lead Office of the Special Investigator

By Shannon Jenkins

Careers

The new secretary of the Attorney-General's Department has not been announced.

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The Briefing

The Briefing: DFAT, Agriculture hardly the only departments burdened by worsening Australia-China ties

By Chris Woods

Editors' Picks

Following a year marked by calls for a global inquiry into COVID-19's origins, escalating trade tensions, and last week's meme war, Australian departments working with…

Major review of intelligence laws makes ‘controversial’ recommendations

By Shannon Jenkins

Defence

The review found 'there are some areas in which the legislative framework is unnecessarily complex, leading to unclear and confusing laws for those NIC officers…

Home Affairs used Google Translate for COVID-19 advice to multicultural communities

By Shannon Jenkins

Community & Social

Public servants from the Department of Home Affairs used Google Translate rather than official translators to communicate with multicultural communities at the beginning of the…

Parliamentary committee calls for overhaul of Australia’s data-retention regime

By Shannon Jenkins

Federal

The Intelligence and Security Committee made 22 recommendations to government that, if implemented, would increase transparency, raise the threshold for when data can be accessed,…

Level of foreign interference highest within local government, ASIO boss says

By Shannon Jenkins

Federal

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess has shone a light on some of the ways foreign governments may attempt to influence local politicians and…

Industry Advisory Committee established to guide implementation of cyber security strategy

By Shannon Jenkins

Economy & Industry

An advisory body tasked with helping the federal government improve cyber security across the public and private sectors has held its first virtual meeting on…

Home Affairs working with NSW corruption watchdog in ‘cash for visas’ probe

By Shannon Jenkins

Federal

The ‘cash-for-visas’ scam linked to former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire could harm public trust in the management of the government’s visa and immigration program,…

Pezzullo proposes ‘extended state’ to fight national security threats

By Shannon Jenkins

Federal

In a speech to the Australian National University's National Security College on Tuesday, the senior mandarin warned that security risks have extended beyond human-initiated violence,…

Corruption watchdog tells agencies to take note after Home Affairs worker forged medical certificates

By Shannon Jenkins

Federal

Its warning has followed the sentencing of Department of Home Affairs employee Rebecca Reid over corruption-related offences.

Australia’s airport asylum procedures must be reformed, according to new research

By Shannon Jenkins

Federal

The Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law paper has called for Australia’s airport asylum process to be reformed 'to ensure that those in need of…

Not ‘appropriate’ to compensate man who was detained for four years despite valid visa, Home Affairs says

By Shannon Jenkins

Federal

The Department of Home Affairs has decided against advising a man on whether his four-year detention was unlawful and will not offer him redress, the…

Top spy agency values imagination and diversity, according to Rachel Noble

By Shannon Jenkins

Federal

Australian Signals Directorate head Rachel Noble says politicians have final say on bolstering spy powers, ASD cannot conduct mass surveillance on Australians, and it's 'rethinking'…

Proposed national security laws grant agencies stronger powers to protect critical infrastructure from cyber attacks

By Shannon Jenkins

Defence

The reforms would add these sectors to the definition of 'critical infrastructure': banking, finance, communications, data, the Cloud, defence industry, education, research, innovation, energy, food,…