The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Brendan Horsley, released today his annual report for 2024-25.
The Inspector-General (IGIS) provides independent oversight of New Zealand’s intelligence agencies, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS). This includes reviewing and inquiring into the agencies’ activities and investigating complaints.
“The public’s trust in our intelligence services is critical to their mandate and this trust is earned through transparency and accountability,” Mr Horsley said in his foreword to the annual report.
“This report details the work undertaken by my office to ensure the NZSIS and the GCSB continue to act in way that is proper, lawful and consistent with New Zealand’s values. I am pleased to report no major concerns with the conduct of the agencies.”
“My annual report this year summarises three reviews of GCSB activities that will not be covered by any further public reporting,” Mr Horsley said. “These are on the collection of intelligence on transnational organised crime, target discovery activities, and raw data sharing with partner agencies. While I aim to publish unclassified versions of classified reports where possible, sometimes the extent of classified material gives little scope for that.”
Published reports this year include one on a review of NZSIS recruitment and management of human sources and one on a complaint investigation.
“At year end, another half dozen reviews were ongoing, most of which I expect to report on publicly in the coming year,” Mr Horsley said.
“Significant matters dealt with this year included some protected disclosures regarding the NZSIS, and ongoing oversight of international intelligence sharing relating to armed conflicts. I also report further on the NZSIS’s use of class warrants, which I have covered in previous annual reports.”
“As required by law, I assess in my annual report the soundness of the intelligence and security agency’s compliance systems. In most respects these are well developed in both agencies. This year again, however, I assess both agencies as having under-developed operational policy and procedure.
“The main issue is that neither yet manages to keep its policies sufficiently up to date. This matters because policy is where many important controls and safeguards on covert activities are found. As I acknowledged last year, both agencies are working to improve their systems, but the task remains substantial.”
The annual report is available on the IGIS website: www.igis.govt.nz
Media contact (on behalf of the Inspector-General): Joe Locke, 021 636 416