Access secrets. Disrupt threats. Secure Australia.
Our mission
We are Australia's foreign intelligence collection agency. We collect and distribute secret foreign intelligence, information which would be otherwise unavailable to Australia, to protect Australia and its interests.
We obtain this intelligence from foreign sources, outside Australia's borders. To do this, we rely on what we call 'human intelligence' - information that comes directly from people.
Human intelligence
Human intelligence can help us learn about, and prevent, threats to Australia's security and prosperity. Human intelligence can help prevent unwanted foreign influence in Australia, as well as safeguard our economy by helping the government make informed decisions.
You might have heard this kind of work described as espionage. And while it varies from what you might have seen in movies, there are some similarities - the work is exciting, fast-paced and involves the latest technology.
Our values
The National Intelligence Community
ASIS works closely with other members of the National Intelligence Community (NIC) to deliver whole-of-government outcomes. This active engagement and communication ensures a coordinated approach to intelligence activities and appropriate use of government resources. We operate as part of a wider group of intelligence partners, having close links to partner agencies and strong relationships with the intelligence services of other countries.
Director-General
Kerri has worked in senior executive roles across a large number of government departments including Employment and Workplace Relations, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Prime Minister and Cabinet, Finance, Industry, Resources and Energy, Human Services and Immigration.
After leaving the public sector in 2020, Kerri worked with the Business Council of Australia and then as a principal advisor and Chair of a consulting advisory and legal firm. During this time, she continued her work in the intelligence and security areas having been a member of the ANU National Security College Futures Council, AUSTRAC's Fintel Alliance, and Chair of the AFP and Office of the Special Investigator’s Audit and Risk Committees. In 2021 she became the Chair of the National Youth Science Forum and also sits on the board of the Canberra Hospital Foundation.
Kerri started her working life as a journalist in rural Queensland and then in the Press Gallery at Parliament House working for the Melbourne Herald and Weekly Times.
