Intelligence sources confirm use of false passports

AUSTRALIAN security agencies use false passports issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs to allow covert operatives to function overseas, intelligence sources have admitted.

By InvestSMART · 27 May 2010

By InvestSMART ·
27 May 2010

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AUSTRALIAN security agencies use false passports issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs to allow covert operatives to function overseas, intelligence sources have admitted.

Following the admission by Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop about Australia's use of fake passports, sources confirmed Australia had a long-standing tradition of providing passports to overseas intelligence agencies. These countries were within the "Western intelligence club" specifically Britain, the US, New Zealand and Canada, sources confirmed.

While the government leapt upon Ms Bishop's comments, accusing her of a grievous breach of national security, sources within the intelligence community said she merely made public an inconvenient truth.

Security agencies, including the international spy agency, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, as well as ASIO and the Australian Federal Police, use false passports issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs to allow secret operatives to work overseas.

Australia does not use the identities of its citizens or forge existing passports. Rather, it creates a passport for a fictitious person and gives it to an intelligence operative.

It is a practice similar to that used by state police when they create fake identities for undercover police officers.

Sources said the Department of Foreign Affairs sometimes creates a passport at the request of an agency, perhaps as seldom as once a year.

The only caveat is that the intelligence service keep Foreign Affairs informed of the movement of the agent through national borders.

The Australian government would also be extremely judicious in its use of such passports, particularly so when providing them to other countries.

There is a big difference between creating fake passports and using real passports, as in the Mossad assassination of arms dealer Mahmoud al-Mabhouh that led Australia to expel an Israeli diplomat this week. What Israel did was to forge the passports of foreign nationals including four Australians for their agents.

Ms Bishop a cabinet minister in the Howard government was pounced upon by Labor after her comments to Fairfax Media on Tuesday.

"It wasn't what you would call kosher," one intelligence source said.

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Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…

Do Australian security agencies use false passports for covert operatives?

Yes. According to intelligence sources, Australian security agencies use false passports issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs to allow covert operatives to function overseas. These are passports for fictitious people rather than forged copies of real Australians’ documents.

Which Australian agencies are involved in using fake passports, and who are the foreign partners?

The article names the international spy agency (ASIS), ASIO and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) as users of false passports, with the Department of Foreign Affairs issuing them. Sources also confirmed a long-standing tradition of providing passports to close allies in the ‘Western intelligence club’ — specifically Britain, the United States, New Zealand and Canada.

How does the Department of Foreign Affairs create and supply false passports?

DFAT creates passports for fictitious people at the request of security agencies. The practice does not involve using real Australian citizen identities or forging existing passports; instead a new, fictional identity is produced and given to an operative.

How often are false passports issued to intelligence operatives?

Usage is rare and carefully controlled. Sources say the Department of Foreign Affairs sometimes creates a passport at the request of an agency, perhaps as seldom as once a year, and the government is described as extremely judicious in using or supplying them to other countries.

What oversight or conditions apply when agencies use false passports?

One stated condition is that the intelligence service must keep Foreign Affairs informed of the agent’s movement through national borders. The article also emphasises that the government is careful and selective when providing passports to other countries.

What’s the difference between creating fake passports and forging real passports?

Creating a fake passport means issuing a passport for a fictitious person (as DFAT does). Forging real passports means copying or falsifying the identities of real people. The article contrasts the two and cites the Mossad assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, where real foreign passports were forged — an act that led Australia to expel an Israeli diplomat.

Who revealed Australia’s use of false passports and what was the political reaction?

Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop made comments about Australia’s use of fake passports. The government accused her of a grievous breach of national security, while intelligence community sources said she had merely made public an inconvenient truth.

Are fake passports similar to undercover police identities used by state police?

Yes. The article notes the practice is similar to state police creating fake identities for undercover officers — both involve issuing alternate identities to allow personnel to operate covertly.