The author of this paper argues that a new national security strategy for Australia would help guide policy-makers, but strengthening the decision-making process would do more to improve the quality of national security decisions.

In this inquiry report, the Committee recommends that the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry review its food import risk frameworks to ensure that they are fit for purpose and that decisions under the frameworks are accelerated where required.

The alliance with the United States remains the single most important element in Australia’s approach to managing strategic change in the Indo-Pacific. The authors of this report argue that as Australia adapts to an altered security landscape, it is more important than ever to look...

This report argues for the establishment of an Australian Centre for Disease Control - to bring together the various elements of health protection and promotion into one organisation.

This report brings together four leading experts from Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, to explore what role Australia and the United States could play in supporting more robust maritime security capabilities with their countries.

The Counterterrorism yearbook 2022 unpacks the current global terrorism threat landscape, spanning the ideological and religious spectrums, from jihadism to nationalist and racist violent extremism. The authors analyse how those different forms of terrorism affect Australia and the global community and offer practical policy solutions...

This paper provides a preliminary examination of factors in common to riot events across the Pacific region over the past 15 years.

In this briefing note, the authors conclude that the threat of state-sponsored economic cyber-espionage is more significant than ever, with countries industrialising their cyber-espionage efforts to target commercial firms and universities on a grand scale.

This paper endeavours to identify the principal factors that need to be identified and addressed if Australia is to pursue the nuclear propulsion option for its next generation submarines. The author argues that Australia has the capacity to manage these issues, even if it cannot...

This discussion paper outlines the draft mission and purpose statements for an Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC). It includes an outline of its potential scope of functions, examples of how it could improve public health in Australia, and principles guiding its design.

As bilateral relations stabilise, Australia should work to entrench its position as an indispensable supplier of key commodities to China, argues Richard McGregor in this paper.

This paper addresses how Defence can not only save money when purchasing a new cadre of weaponry, but do so in a way that benefits the economy. Both issues relate to affordability which may ultimately determine the impact of the Defence Strategic Review.

Stephen Smith and Angus Houston have an enormous amount to do and almost no time to do it. Prime Minister Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles have chosen them to be the independent heads of the Defence Strategic Review. This paper sets out the...

This report offers a multi-disciplinary analysis of the various components that make up and influence the vast and complex agriculture industry network in northern Australia. The report also examines biosecurity vulnerabilities, mitigation strategies for those vulnerabilities and their strategic and national security implications.

The task for Australia’s biosecurity system is becoming increasingly complex, creating new challenges for governments, industry and other stakeholders in protecting Australia’s biosecurity status. This strategy document outlines a collective vision for Australia’s future biosecurity system.

This report demonstrates the extraordinary proactivity of Japan towards issues of regional order-building, security and defence policy, and military capability development, and teases out the implications for Australia as a closely aligned partner.

This report argues that Australia should focus on force multipliers for the Australian Defence Force and areas that build foundations for sovereign capability. This will allow Australia to cement itself as a valuable contributor to an integrated trilateral AUKUS defence industrial base and allied supply...

This report describes policy initiatives and actions to safeguard national and economic security whilst protecting freedom of enquiry, promoting international research cooperation, and ensuring openness and non-discrimination.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s overseas crisis management and response arrangements in meeting the government’s objectives for returning Australians from overseas in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Home Affairs’ administration and regulation of critical infrastructure protection policy.

The Pacific will always be an area of great strategic significance for Australia. Peace and stability in Pacific island countries goes to the heart of Australia’s security, prosperity and national interest. This report suggests the need for Australian policy-makers to think big to achieve a...

This paper analyses the most unexamined component of Australia’s international statecraft - covert action. Such activity by intelligence agencies has become an increased focus of academic research internationally, and the paper introduces an Australian perspective to the debate.

This policy brief makes the case that states should adopt national policies to defend against threats to space-based assets and applications, such as communications satellites, that are both vital to national security and economic security and increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.

In response to recommendations in the 2015 Independent Review of Whole-of-Government Internal Regulation (Belcher Red Tape Review), to reduce compliance burden and to support entities to better engage with risk, the Attorney-General introduced a revised Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) on 1 October 2018. The...

This report provides a stocktake of all Australia's Indo-Pacific strategic memberships, from the Five Eyes in 1956 up to AUKUS in late 2021. It then ranks all of Australia's group memberships by their current value and potential and recommends how to resource them.