Retired public servant Robert Cornall has been appointed to review adverse Asio security assessments, which are sometimes made against asylum seekers

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Robert Cornall, the retired public servant who led the government’s inquiry into the Manus Island violence which killed asylum seeker Reza Barati, has been appointed independent reviewer of Asio adverse security assessments.

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A former secretary of the attorney general’s department and a regular consultant for the current government, he will take the post for two years.

Security assessments are used by Asio to determine, among other things, whether a person is able to apply for a visa, hold a passport or access sensitive information, areas or materials.



Adverse security assessments are sometimes made against asylum seekers as grounds for refusing to allow them to apply for a visa.

Those asylum seekers can be held in immigration detention indefinitely without charge, without being told the reasons for their adverse assessment and detention.

More than 30 asylum seekers are currently in immigration detention because of adverse security assessments. Some have been there more than five years.

Cornall has overseen several inquiries for the current government, including two involving Manus Island – into the riots of February 2014 and into allegations of sexual assault – as well as into conflicts of interest in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

The position of Asio reviewer was established in 2012. Cornall takes over from Margaret Stone.