Defence Business: Defence takes on Commonwealth-wide security vetting | ADM Nov 2010
The launch of the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) on 1 October marked the dawn of a new era in Commonwealth security vetting – with the Department of Defence now taking responsibility for managing personnel security clearances across Government.
Brooke Audsley | Canberra
AGSVA is a single, centralised vetting agency established within the Defence Security Authority (DSA) and delivers on a government promise made in late 2009.
AGSVA means that, for the first time, a single agency will be responsible for granting and reviewing security clearances for most Commonwealth public servants and contractors.
“The AGSVA will provide direct benefits to public servants, government contractors and the broader Government agencies by improving security vetting processes, reducing unnecessary regulation, and delivering cost savings,” Deputy Secretary Intelligence and Security, Stephan Merchant said.
Pre-AGSVA, individual departments and agencies were responsible for their own vetting.
According to Merchant, over time this resulted in more than 100 replicated vetting processes and more than 50 separate contracts with vetting providers.
“By providing a centralised service, the AGSVA will remove inconsistencies and duplication in the vetting process, and deliver savings of at least $5.3 million per year – some of these savings have already been realised,” he said.
The AGSVA also provides public servants and contractors with one single clearance, effective across government—a Commonwealth Security Clearance.
This means people transferring to other agencies won’t have to undergo another clearance process, as their Commonwealth Security Clearance will be recognised by their new employer.
What does it mean for Defence?
While the launch of the AGSVA represents significant change for other agencies, it is anticipated that for Defence it will be more a case of ‘business as usual’, with added benefits.
“We anticipate a smooth transition for Defence,” head of the AGSVA, Assistant Secretary Vetting Peter Sinfield, said.
“Defence personnel will not have to undertake any complex new vetting procedures.
“Clearances will not take any longer than they do now – in fact, it is hoped timeframes will continue to be reduced.
“This is because, essentially, the vetting system Defence personnel have experience with is continuing, but with the added bonus of a number of IT innovations to speed up the process and get rid of much of the paperwork,” he added.
The AGSVA will provide access to all security clearance forms (E-Packs) on both the internet (AGSVA website) and intranet (Defence Restricted Network, DRN) – previously these were only available from the DRN – and is developing systems so that changes to personal details can be made online.
This means Defence personnel will have the flexibility to complete clearance forms, update personal details and report changes in circumstances 24/7 from home or work.
In addition, proof of identify will be far less onerous.
Vettees will now only be asked to prove their identity once, instead of having to repeat the process every time a clearance comes up for review.
While the fundamentals of the Defence vetting system remain the same, Defence personnel will notice some changes to vetting terminology, and there will also be a change to security clearance requirements for ADF recruits.
To increase efficiency, all new Navy, Army and Air Force recruits will, from now on, be cleared to Negative Vetting 1 (SECRET) during their initial training and recruitment phase.
Previously, trainee recruits were cleared to RESTRICTED and then later upgraded to meet operational requirements.
The new protocol removes the requirement for ADF recruits to undergo two separate clearance processes.
And for current ADF members not yet cleared to Negative Vetting 1, Defence will be putting in place a systematic upgrade process over the coming years.
This process will be driven by the AGSVA.
New terminology
The Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) guides all of the AGSVA processes and protocols.
Aside from determining the policies on which all security clearance decisions are based, the PSPF also outlines the new terminology to be used to describe the different clearance levels.
The change in terminology is expected to be fairly straightforward.
However, for those individuals who are currently cleared to CONFIDENTIAL, there is some confusion about what the name change means.
“People with CONFIDENTIAL clearances are asking if the change means that they now automatically have access to SECRET and HIGHLY PROTECTED documents.
“The short answer is no,” Sinfield stated.
“If you hold a CONFIDENTIAL clearance you will retain that level of clearance until you have been revalidated and cleared to the new Negative Vetting 1 level.”
Just the beginning
“Getting to the launch phase has involved a lot of hard work, by many people and we should be pleased with what we’ve achieved so far,” Merchant said.
“It’s been good to see all the agencies involved pulling together to create a better vetting system.
“And the new AGSVA is a vote of confidence in Defence’s security vetting team, and the Department of Defence more broadly – CIOG has also played a critical role in getting online processes up and running.“
Yet despite the success of the AGSVA so far, Merchant says that Defence knows that the hard work really begins now.
“We look forward to some new and interesting challenges and are ready for the hard work ahead of us.”
These views are echoed by Sinfield.
“The AGSVA has a customer base of around 300 organisations – of which Defence is only one.
“This means Defence will go from processing around 23,000 clearance actions a year to 48,000,” he said.
“Any undertaking on this scale can be expected to experience teething problems.
“And, while we have worked diligently to put systems in place to pre-empt and manage issues as they arise, we are hoping for some understanding and assistance in the transition phase.”
Maximising the benefits
Sinfield said there were a number of ways the broader Defence community can help.
“Firstly, we encourage our Defence colleagues to integrate security clearance benchmark times into recruitment planning and everyday business processes.
“The closer the integration of vetting into your business processes, the greater Defence’s ability to maximise the benefits of the new system,” he said.
“Secondly, it is essential that people submit their clearance packs promptly, as we can’t start processing them until they do.
“Thirdly, but not less importantly, everyone should be checking to making sure that clearance requests are matched to actual job requirements.
“At the AGSVA, we too will do our part.
“We are going to continually reform this process and keep working over the coming years to make the AGSVA a professional, efficient and effective organisation.”
General vetting enquiries can be directed to the AGSVA Client Service Centre t: 1800 640 450, e: securityclearances@defence.gov.au You may also like to visit the AGSVA website: www.defence.gov.au/agsva for further information.