Intelligence agencies have developed workarounds for a year-long vetting process for the highest security clearances, but the problem continues according to the oversight authority.
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Former acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security Jake Blight highlighted the concern to the parliamentary committee that reviews the running state of Australia's intelligence agencies.
Mr Blight said intelligence agencies have been "having difficulty meeting recruitment targets and that this is, at least in part, related to vetting delays", particularly for agencies which rely on external vetting services.
The workaround strategies noticed by IGIS include downgrading requirements for roles, and splitting teams across difficult facilities so staff with a lower clearance can continue to work.
"In some cases staff are engaged temporarily in these lower security classification tasks in appropriate locations while their clearances are processed, in other cases staff are engaged permanently to work in a lower security classification area," Mr Blight explained, and supports the strategies as long as agencies are clear with prospective employees.
"Similarly, if staff are engaged permanently to work in an area that does not need a positive vetting clearance and, as such, they are not asked to undergo that level of vetting, what impact this will have on mobility within the agency and career progression for the individual."
Another former IGIS, Justice Margaret Stone raised the difficulty long vetting delays had on recruitment in every year of her five-year tenure ending in August this year, revealing that the process could take up to 1.5 years for an outcome.
The Office of National Intelligence also highlighted that the lead time to recruit employees in which positive vetting was required was a challenge, and its workplace planning focus was on minimising the latency period and unplanned departures.
The IGIS office chose to place people in other agencies, such as the Commonwealth Ombudsman or ACLEI, while undergoing vetting. That helped retain people who would otherwise have found other jobs before the vetting is completed.
"These placements also help to strengthen the links between agencies," Mr Blight wrote.
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Harley Dennett
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
Former federal politics bureau chief for the Canberra Times, via a career that's taken me from rural Victoria to Washington DC. Telling the stories of my local LGBTI community brought me to political journalism, where I've covered eight budgets, four national elections in two countries, Defence, public service and international governance.
