2022 Review of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017

The report of the review of the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 (the ISA) has been considered by the cross-party Intelligence and Security Committee and presented to the House of Representatives.

A review of the ISA must take place every five to seven years. This review was brought forward so it could consider the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019 (the Royal Commission Report) that relate to the ISA in a timely way and within a review of the entire Act.

The purpose of the review was to:

determine whether improvements could be made to the ISA to ensure it continues to be effective, clear and fit for purpose; and
consider the recommendations about the ISA from the Royal Commission Report.

The ISA review report makes 52 recommendations (33 main recommendations and 19 ‘routine improvements’).

The review was carried out by the Honourable Sir Terence Arnold and Matanuku Mahuika, with Dr Penelope Ridings as special advisor.

Read the review here.

Taumaru: Protecting Aotearoa New Zealand as a free, open and democratic society

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Recommendations of the review:

A summary of the recommendations can be found here.

What happens now:

The ISA is administered by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), who is the lead agency for responding to the review.

The recommendations made in the ISA review report are complex. Many of them propose that the Government carry out further work to decide whether changes to the ISA are necessary. The Government will need time to consider the ISA review report and the potential impact of the proposals, before accepting any recommendations.

DPMC is currently considering the report to inform its advice to Ministers on the recommendations and the Government’s response.

Updates on the Government response


November 2023	The Government has agreed to an overall approach and objectives for its response to the ISA review report. Due to the complexity of the recommendations, the Government will consider each of the ISA review report’s recommendations in turn. This means the Government will not accept or agree to any recommendation without careful consideration of its potential impacts. This approach differs from the Government response to the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch masjidain on 15 March 2019, where the Government accepted all of the recommendations in-principle. Any proposed change to the ISA will be subject to a full legislative process that includes opportunities for public submissions at the Select Committee stage. The Government has agreed to the following objectives to guide the Government response to the ISA review report: Promote clear and fit-for-purpose legislation that enables effective intelligence and security agencies and the robust oversight of those agencies. Maintain New Zealand’s long-standing commitment to te Tiriti o Waitangi, human rights, democracy, accountability, and the rule of law for our multicultural country. Enhance public trust and confidence in the intelligence and security agencies, and meet expectations of transparency through a robust policy process, with effective engagement, as appropriate. Strengthen and promote a bi-partisan consensus on intelligence and security issues. Ensure legislation continues to facilitate effective engagement and cooperation with New Zealand’s domestic agencies and international security partners. Ensure any resulting legislation is adaptable to changing circumstances and is technology-neutral. Ensure the intent of the recommendations is fully understood and the responses are well considered, while recognising that legislative change should only be recommended when it is the most appropriate means of achieving the policy objective. As the lead agency for responding to the ISA review report, DPMC continues to progress work to consider each of the recommendations in close consultation with the GCSB, NZSIS, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, and other relevant stakeholders. DPMC is also developing an engagement plan for undertaking targeted consultation on specific recommendations.

How does this review relate to the Royal Commission Report?

The Royal Commission Report recommendations related to the ISA and the other issues the Royal Commission identified with the Act will be considered as part of the Government’s response to the ISA review report.

The Royal Commission Report made four recommendations that relate to the ISA. These were:

Recommendation 6: Strengthen the role of the Intelligence and Security Committee
Recommendation 10: Add a reporting requirement for direct access agreements.
Recommendation 17: Require in legislation for the National Security Intelligence Priorities and an annual threatscape report to be published, and the Intelligence and Security Committee to receive and consider submissions on both.
Recommendation 18: Review all legislation related to the counter-terrorism effort – including an urgent review of section 19 of the ISA.

The ISA review was brought forward to March 2022 to consider the Royal Commission Report’s recommendations about the ISA in a timely way and within a review of the entire Act.

The review also considered other issues identified in the Royal Commission Report about the Act as it affects the counter-terrorism effort.

The ISA review accepted some, but not all, of the Royal Commission Report’s recommendations that relate to the ISA. A brief overview is provided in the table below:

Royal Commission Report recommendation relating to the ISA	ISA Review
Recommendation 6: Strengthen the role of the Intelligence and Security Committee	The review accepted the Royal Commission Report’s recommendations about the ISC, and proposes wider reform of this committee.
Recommendation 10: Add a reporting requirement for direct access agreements	The review did not accept the Royal Commission Report’s recommendation to add a reporting requirement to the direct access agreement scheme. However, the review makes other recommendations about the direct access agreement scheme that they consider will improve the scheme.
Recommendation 17: Require in legislation for the National Security Intelligence Priorities and an annual threatscape report to be published, and the Intelligence and Security Committee to receive and consider submissions on both.	The review accepted this recommendation, but proposes the National Assessments Bureau (instead of the responsible Minister) publish an unclassified version of its independent annual threatscape report.
Recommendation 18: Review all legislation related to the counter-terrorism effort – including an urgent review of section 19 of the ISA.	The review considered the effect of section 19 of the ISA and does not recommend any changes to this section.

Last updated

Monday, 29 May 2023