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Publications ~ Securing our Nation's Safety

How New Zealand manages its security and intelligence agencies

Committee Roles


Role of the Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination (ODESC)

The Committee shall, subject to any statutory limitations, act on the Prime Minister's behalf to exercise policy oversight of the New Zealand intelligence community in respect of foreign intelligence matters. The ODESC will seek to ensure that the agencies which constitute this community are efficient, effective, balanced and responsive in the performance of individual and collective responsibilities, and that they are geared to provide timely, relevant and useful intelligence and assessments on developments which are likely to affect New Zealand. The Committee shall advise the Prime Minister and, with the Prime Minister's agreement, Cabinet or its relevant subcommittee on any matter related to the work of the intelligence community, and shall have the specific responsibilities outlined below. The Committee shall also maintain oversight of security within government departments and agencies and be responsible for setting standards or requirements for government departments and agencies to follow. With augmented membership to include the Police, the Committee shall provide advice and guidance on policy and operational matters relating to counter-terrorism and the management of terrorist incidents. From time to time, the Committee may also provide advice to Cabinet or its relevant subcommittee on external security matters where a coordinated interdepartmental stream of policy advice is appropriate.

Foreign Intelligence Requirements

The Foreign Intelligence Requirements Committee is established by and is responsible to the Committee, to prepare under the direction of the Committee the detailed, prioritised Foreign Intelligence Requirements.

Resources

The Committee shall examine the resources needed to satisfy the Foreign Intelligence Requirements. It shall, at the Prime Minister's direction, undertake examination of the budget bids of the EAB, GCSB, and NZSIS (in respect of its foreign intelligence collection function). The Committee shall be guided by the Government's fiscal policy guidelines and by resource and capability requirements arising from the Foreign Intelligence Requirements to make recommendations to the Prime Minister for approval and for inclusion in the Estimates.

Assessments

The National Assessments Committee is established by and responsible to the Committee, to periodically consider and approve the Assessments Work programme, and to consider and issue assessments produced by the intelligence community.

Intelligence Management Oversight and Coordination

The Committee shall provide oversight and policy direction to, and shall monitor the performance of the New Zealand intelligence community and individual agencies with respect to the collection, processing, production and dissemination of foreign intelligence reports and assessments.

The Committee shall act on the Prime Minister's behalf in such areas of his/her responsibilities towards intelligence agencies as he/she may from time to time direct, and shall advise the Prime Minister of any action which the Committee recommends should be taken.

The Committee shall ensure there is full and effective coordination and cooperation within the New Zealand intelligence community, and that there is no unnecessary overlap of activities or responsibilities.

The Committee shall be informed by the Director of Security of any new area of potential relevance to security in respect of which it has been considered necessary to institute surveillance, in accordance with section 4 (1) (d) of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service Act 1969 as amended.

Security in Government Departments

The Committee shall maintain oversight of security within government departments and agencies, and shall be responsible for setting standards or requirements to Government departments or agencies to follow.

Counter-Terrorism

The Committee shall provide advice to Cabinet or its relevant subcommittee on policy for the management of terrorist incidents. It shall provide oversight, advice and guidance to New Zealand's counter-terrorism community, including on policy and operational matters relating to counter-terrorism. The Committee shall ensure that documented procedures and adequate facilities exist to enable an effective, coordinated response by government to a terrorist incident, and that these procedures and facilities are periodically exercised.

External Security

From time to time the Committee may provide advice to Cabinet or its relevant subcommittee on external security issues where a coordinated interdepartmental stream of policy advice is appropriate.

Subcommittees

The Committee may establish such committees, subcommittees and working groups as it considers necessary to assist in performing its functions.

Intelligence Coordinator

The Intelligence Coordinator is responsible to the Committee. The Intelligence Coordinator shall report to the Committee, through the Chief Executive, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, as required by the Committee and shall provide such advice and assistance to the Committee as the Committee requires. The Intelligence Coordinator shall attend meetings of the Committee unless the Committee otherwise instructs.

Membership

The Committee shall be chaired by the Chief Executive of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The other members of the Committee shall be the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Chief of the Defence Force, the Secretary of Defence, the Director of Security, the Director GCSB, the Director EAB, the Director Domestic and External Security Group, the Secretary to the Treasury and the Commissioner of Police. Membership of the Committee is personal to each Chief Executive who may delegate attendance only in the event of exceptional circumstances.

Committee Support

The Committee is serviced in all its functions by the Domestic and External Security Group (DES Group) located within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Director DES Group shall be the Deputy Chair of the Committee.


Role of the Foreign Intelligence Requirements Committee

  1. The New Zealand Government funds the intelligence agencies to produce foreign intelligence (and invests in collection and analysis capability) to support its policy formulation and decision-making responsibilities in the sphere of national security, with particular reference to defence and foreign policy interests, national economic wellbeing and the prevention or detection of terrorism and serious international crime. The customers of the intelligence community are Ministers and others (notably senior departmental officials) responsible for the formulation of policy advice and the implementation of Government policies. Their needs drive the intelligence community, determining priorities and ultimately the allocation of resources.

  2. The Intelligence Coordinator shall facilitate the setting of New Zealand's requirements for foreign intelligence. To this end the Coordinator chairs the Foreign Intelligence Requirements Committee (FIRC), which is established by and responsible to the Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination (ODESC).


Composition

  1. The FIRC brings together customers, the assessment organisation and the collectors of foreign intelligence.

  2. The core group of the FIRC comprises senior representatives from the following:

    • Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
    • The Treasury
    • Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
    • Ministry of Defence
    • New Zealand Defence Force
    • New Zealand Police
    • Customs
    • Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
    • Ministry of Fisheries
    • Department of Labour (Immigration)
      together with:

    • External Assessments Bureau
    • New Zealand Security Intelligence Service
    • Government Communications Security Bureau
    • Directorate of Defence Intelligence and Security.

  3. Representatives of other departments and organisations will be invited to join the Committee when appropriate.


Role

  1. The role of the FIRC is to:

    • prepare and approve under the direction of ODESC, the statement of New Zealand's detailed prioritised Foreign Intelligence Requirements

    • ensure that the Foreign Intelligence Requirements, when approved, are promulgated to the various agencies and Departments in a form that enables resource allocations to be well targeted and operational capabilities to be effectively managed

    • keep the Requirements and their assigned priority under on-going review, making adjustments as appropriate.


Guidance

  1. In discharging its responsibilities the FIRC is to note that the Requirements provide the basis for tasking GCSB and NZSIS.


Role of the National Assessments Committee

  1. The National Assessments Committee (NAC) is responsible for approving and issuing assessments on events, developments and trends overseas which may affect New Zealand's interests. The Committee is established by and responsible to the Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Coordination (ODESC).

  2. Assessments may cover political, economic, strategic, military and scientific topics, and draw on the full range of information and all classes of intelligence available to New Zealand.

  3. The External Assessments Bureau (EAB) has the principal responsibility for preparing assessments for consideration by the NAC. Other departments and agencies represented on the Committee may prepare an assessment or contribute to an assessment being prepared by EAB. In particular the Directorate of Defence Intelligence and Security (DDIS) will from time to time prepare or contribute to assessments on military issues or on situations involving NZDF deployments.

  4. The principal customers of assessments are: the Prime Minister; other senior Ministers nominated by the Prime Minister; and others (notably senior departmental officials) responsible for the formulation of policy advice and the implementation of Government policies.


Composition

  1. The NAC brings together the principal departments which deal with issues of external policy, the assessments organisations and the collectors of foreign intelligence.

  2. The core group of the NAC comprises senior representatives of the following departments and agencies:
    Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
    Ministry of Defence
    New Zealand Defence Force
    Directorate of Defence Intelligence and Security
    Government Communications Security Bureau
    New Zealand Security Intelligence Service
    External Assessments Bureau
    and the Intelligence Coordinator, who is charged with monitoring the assessment process.

  3. The NAC is chaired by the Director, EAB. EAB provides the secretarial services for the Committee. From time to time the Intelligence Coordinator may, at the request of the Chair, take the chair of the Committee.

  4. Representatives of other departments and agencies will be invited to join the Committee when appropriate, as decided by the Committee. The Committee, in examining the forward list of papers, will consider whether other departments should be invited to take part in the Committee's deliberations for one or more papers.


Activities

  1. The principal functions of the NAC are to:

    • periodically review and approve the assessments work programme submitted to the Committee, following consultation with departments, by EAB

    • update as appropriate the assessments work programme at the regular weekly meeting of the NAC

    • provide a forum for scrutiny, debate and contestability of draft assessments and their key judgements, noting that the Director EAB is explicitly required to exercise independent judgement in preparing assessments. Differences of opinion concerning the substance or judgements of an assessment which are unable to be resolved will, at the request of the dissenting department(s), be formally recorded as part of the assessment prior to its release

    • following this process, formally approve each draft assessment

    • consider and approve the distribution of each such assessment both within New Zealand, and overseas, including its release, if appropriate, to EAB's counterpart assessment agencies in foreign governments and if applicable to other departments of foreign governments.

  2. In relation to the Committee, EAB:

    • prepares or coordinates draft assessments

    • prepares the draft work programme

    • notifies the Committee of other relevant work it is undertaking, and tables these reports at the next following meeting of the Committee.

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