ASD's purpose is to defend Australia against global threats and advance our national interests through the provision of foreign signals intelligence, cyber security and offensive cyber operations, as directed by Government.

Following ASD's establishment as a statutory agency in July 2018, ASD has continued to develop and strengthen its enterprise-level governance and performance frameworks through the implementation of a planning framework and revision of its internal reporting mechanisms to measure performance against specified objectives. ASD's ability to publicly report on its performance will be limited by the classified nature of its work; however, the agency is committed to ensuring the most robust measures for determining performance remain in place and provide transparency where possible into the 2020–‍21 reporting period.

In the 2018–19 ASD Annual Report, the letter of transmittal noted ASD’s intent to develop a separate classified report. This was met through the classified report on administration and expenditure presented to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS).

As Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate and the accountable authority of ASD, I present the 2019–20 annual performance statement for ASD, as required by paragraph 39(1) of the Public Governance, Performance, and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act). In my opinion, the annual performance statement is based on properly maintained records, accurately reflects the performance of ASD in achieving its purpose and complies with section 39(2) of the PGPA Act.

Rachel Noble PSM
Director-General
Australian Signals Directorate

12 October 2020