Australian Security Intelligence Organisation

The Australian domestic security intelligence service, founded in 1949

Overview

ASIO was created in 1949 under Prime Minister Ben Chifley, prompted partly by VENONA decrypts that revealed Soviet espionage in Canberra, and was modeled on the British Security Service. Its best known Cold War case was the 1954 defection of Soviet diplomats Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov, which led to a royal commission and became entangled in the bitter split of the Labor Party. ASIO investigates espionage, foreign interference and terrorism, gained expanded questioning and detention powers after 2001, and works closely with Five Eyes partners. Its activities are reviewed by the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security and a parliamentary committee.