Eligibility
Australian Federal, State and Territory government agencies are authorised to sponsor Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) security clearances. Non-government employees contracted to a government agency must be sponsored by the agency.
Members of the Defence Industry Security Program may also be able to sponsor security clearances up to Negative Vetting 2 level.
Individuals are not eligible to sponsor a security clearance.
Responsibility
The Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) stipulates the roles and responsibilities of sponsoring entities to manage all areas of security in their entity, including people, information and assets. The sponsoring entity is required to develop and use procedures to ensure:
- all elements of the entity’s security plan are achieved
- security incidents are investigated, responded to and reported
- relevant security policy or legislative obligations are met.
Roles
To support the management of security in the sponsoring entity, the following roles are appointed:
- Chief Security Officer – responsible for the oversight of security arrangements in the entity, including governance, information, personnel and physical security.
- Agency Security Advisor – an optional role that supports the Chief Security Officer to perform a specific security function.
- Security Officers – perform specialist security functions and services to manage security clearances on behalf of the sponsoring entity.
All officers and advisors are encouraged to develop a good understanding of the Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF).