Royal Commission on Australia's Security and Intelligence Agencies

Appointed by Letters Patent of 17 May 1983, issued by Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen on the advice of the Hawke government, shortly after the expulsion of Soviet diplomat Valery Ivanov. Justice Robert Marsden Hope of the New South Wales Court of Appeal was to review the activities of the agencies since his 1974–77 Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security, including their accountability, oversight and compliance with the law, and to report first on the circumstances of Ivanov’s expulsion and the involvement of David Combe.

Legislation: Royal Commissions Act 1902

1. December 1983Report on the Combe–Ivanov affair presented.
2. 18 May 1984Reporting date extended from 30 June 1984 to 31 December 1984.
3. 22 May 1985Reports tabled in Parliament.

Reported on the Combe–Ivanov affair in December 1983, finding that Combe had been targeted by Soviet intelligence but that there was no threat to national security. The remaining reports were completed in December 1984 and tabled on 22 May 1985 (the end date is the month of completion). Its recommendations led to the creation of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security and a parliamentary committee on ASIO in 1986. The Parliamentary Handbook gives 22 May 1985 as the date the final report was presented.

• Review of the activities, accountability and oversight of the intelligence agencies
• Inquiry into ASIO’s compliance with the law
• Inquiry into the expulsion of Valery Ivanov and the Combe affair

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Some dates or links for this organisation are not fully confirmed. Corrections are welcome.