ASIO Swamped by Demand for Advice on Espionage and Foreign Interference

Australian delegate Duncan Lewis (R) listens to an Asian delegate during a break in the high-level Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on Avian and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness in Brisbane, Australia, on Oct. 15, 2005. HEATHER FAULKNER/AFP/Getty Images

Australia’s domestic intelligence agency is struggling to meet demand for advice on espionage and foreign interference, and cannot easily redirect resources, its former director-general warns.

Heightened levels of espionage and interference, combined with greater awareness of the twin threats, are stretching resources at the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).