3rd - 4th MARCH 2021 QT Canberra

At ASIO’s recent annual threat assessment on February 24, 2020, the new Director-General Mike Burgess reveals biggest threats to domestic security; a “sleeper” agent who had lived and worked in Australia for years and the proliferation of right-wing extremism have been named among Australia’s biggest threats.

The net assessment: four key threats — espionage, ­foreign interference, right-wing terrorism and pandemics — are at unprecedented levels while one, Islamist terrorism remains in focus. These are the areas that will be addressed at Safeguarding Australia 2021 by key domestic and international senior security experts.

The summit will address the need to examine the continuing concerns and emerging intelligence about Foreign Interference and Malign Foreign Influence, here and in our region. In addition to the powerful and timely government response to countering Foreign Interference and Influence with the latest establishment of the Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce (CFIT) which will elevate intelligence agencies’ abilities to detect and disrupt foreign interference. In addition, maintaining the ongoing key focus as well on cyber-radicalisation of extremists groups from Da’esh inspired extremism to the rise of the right-wing extremism and to address the concern of malign interference arising from internet radicalisation and its enablement of terrorism. With last year's Christchurch terrorist attacks in the forefront of our minds, this area warrants continued close examination at the 2020 summit.

Safeguarding Australia 2021 has extended its scope to include the national security implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic at a one day forum which will be drawing on the recent national and international experiences. The program will also take advantage of the work done by members of the Program Committee in this area through 2007 to 2009 in a series of conferences and seminars on planning and preparation that responded to the Swine and Bird Influenza (H1N1) threats.

Safeguarding Australia 2021 will bring together experts from government, industry and academia to shine the spotlight on this unprecedented threats to Australia’s sovereignty, academic, industry and cultural institutions.

The 2021 Summit Agenda is built around a thematic structure of:

· Foreign Interference – Identifying and responding to the foreign interference threat to our sovereignty, culture, industry and academia.

· Foreign Influence – Determining when Australia’s geopolitical position and goals are undermined by malign acts of influence in our region and areas of strategic interest.

· Cyberspace and the spread on malign influence - identifying and responding to non–state actors, in particular terrorist propaganda, radicalisation, the global rise of the racist and ultra-nationalist right and Da’esh-inspired extremism.

. Pandemic – New Insights for National Security - The program will be built around key emergency planning elements, Plan, Prepare, Respond, Recover, (PPRR), and seek to address the role of Resilience in mitigating the consequences of future events.