Australian Federal, State and Territory government agencies are authorised to sponsor an AGSVA security clearance.
Individuals are not eligible to sponsor a security clearance.
Government agencies seeking security clearances for their contracted non-government organisations are responsible for sponsoring the security clearance.
Defence has made it easier for industry partners and non-government organisations doing work on behalf of the Department of Defence to sponsor security clearances up to Negative Vetting 2.
If you are an industry entity interested in sponsoring and managing your own security clearances, you will need to be a member of the Defence Industry Security Program (DISP). To find out more information about the DISP and how to join, visit the Defence Industry Security Program page.
It is possible for an individual to have multiple sponsors of their security clearance. Multiple sponsorship can occur at different levels, depending on the level of access required by the sponsoring entity.
Sponsoring entities are required to inform AGSVA if they need someone to hold a security clearance, even if that person already holds a security clearance with another sponsor. This is done by the Security Officer registering an interest on behalf of the Sponsor on the myClearance portal. This ensures that AGSVA is able to inform all sponsors if any concerns arise regarding the security clearance holder.
For example,
Mary holds a Baseline security clearance sponsored by the Australian Tax Office for her full-time job. She also holds an NV2 security clearance sponsored by the Army Reserves, which she uses some of the time. Both the Australian Tax Office and Army are required to register an interest in Mary’s security clearance.
If concerns were identified by the Australia Tax Office regarding Mary’s suitability to continue to hold a Baseline clearance, AGSVA would know to inform Army of the same concerns. If Army were to remove their sponsorship at the NV2 level, Mary would be left with a Baseline clearance sponsored by the Australian Tax Office.
Under Australian Government financial rules, companies do not have an advantage if their staff already hold security clearances. You do not need to hold a security clearance to bid for Australian Government work. Companies must request security clearances during the contracting stage if their bid is successful.
It is also against Australian Government policy to advertise for staff who already have a security clearance.
Any foreign worker who needs access to Australian Government classified resources is required to hold a security clearance recognised by the Australian Government. This can occur in the following ways:
- For all sponsoring entities:
A security clearance issued by AGSVA or another authorised vetting agency granted under a citizenship eligibility waiver approved by the sponsoring entity
OR
- For the Australian Department of Defence, or those supporting Defence contracts:
A foreign national security clearance acknowledged by the Australian Government under an international Security of Information Agreement or Arrangement.
Visit the Defence Industry Security Program webpage if you would like more information about:
- membership of the Defence Industry Security Program (DISP)
- engaging overseas workers with classified Defence contracts
For more information view Countries with Security of Information Agreement or Arrangement (SIA) with Defence (PDF, 159KB).