The National Intelligence Coordination Committee can trace its origins back to the
Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) established during the
Second World War in 1944 within the
Department of Defence. The JIC was chaired by the
Controller of Joint Intelligence and responsible for controlling and co-ordinating Defence intelligence policy, the preparation of intelligence reports, and liaison with the Joint Planning Committee of the
Department of Defence. The JIC operated concurrently with the Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB), which was the predecessor to the
Joint Intelligence Organisation, following the JIB's establishment in 1947. In 1969, the JIC was replaced by the
National Intelligence Committee (NIC) which was supported by the
National Assessments Staff (the predecessor to the
Office of National Assessments) within the
Joint Intelligence Organisation (the predecessor to the
Defence Intelligence Organisation) also established in 1969. In 1977, the tabled recommendations of the
Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security, established on 21 August 1974 by Australia's Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam and led by
Justice Robert Hope, called for the creation of a national intelligence committee and formation of an independent agency to provide intelligence assessments on political, strategic and economic issues directly to the Prime Minister. As such, Prime Minister
Malcolm Fraser established the Office of National Assessments through the
Office of National Assessments Act 1977, ensuring the ONA had statutory independence from government. ONA began operations on 20 February 1978, assuming the
Joint Intelligence Organisations's National Assessments Staff and foreign intelligence assessment role. The ONA directly supported the NIC. During the
Howard government, the peak officials-level intelligence co-ordination body was the
Heads of Intelligence Agencies Meeting (HIAM) chaired by the Director General of the
Office of National Assessments. HIAM developed as an informal deliberative and co-ordination body for the heads of the
Australian Intelligence Community agencies. In July 2004, former senior diplomat and Secretary of the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Philip Flood who was head of the
Inquiry into Australian Intelligence Agencies (also known as the Flood Report) tabled recommendations for the
Australian Intelligence Community. Among its findings, the Flood Report recommended that the
Office of National Assessments staff be increased to provide improved foreign intelligence co-ordination and evaluation and that the Heads of Intelligence Agencies Meeting be formalised. The ONA then established the
Foreign Intelligence Coordination Committee (FICC) with the responsibilities for
Australian Intelligence Community co-ordination and capabilities development. The FICC was chaired by the Director General of the
Office of National Assessments and was composed of the heads of ASIO, ASIS, DIO, DSD, DIGO and the AFP alongside Deputy Secretary-level representation from the Departments of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Defence, and Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 2008, Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd revamped the Australian national security framework with the creation of the
National Intelligence Coordination Committee which integrated the Foreign Intelligence Coordination Committee and tasked with broader
Australian Intelligence Community co-ordination responsibilities. Rudd also created the
public service position of
National Security Adviser with the rank of Associate Secretary within the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The National Security Adviser was tasked with Chairing the National Intelligence Coordination Committee alongside a raft of other national security leadership and advice functions. The National Security Adviser was disbanded by Prime Minister
Tony Abbott in 2013 and with their roles integrated into the Deputy Secretary of the
National Security and International Policy Group within the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. == Role ==