Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security

The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) is the official responsible for supervising New Zealand's two main intelligence agencies: the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) and the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB). The current Inspector-General is Brendan Horsley, who commenced in the position in June 2020. The Inspector-General and Deputy Inspector-General are both chosen by the Prime Minister, after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. Traditionally the office had been very small, but was expanded from 2014 onwards in response to controversies over unlawful activities to include a Deputy Inspector-General, two external advisors, and a number of investigation staff. That expansion was accompanied by some greater resourcing and a more intensive role, in particular with the addition of an own motion power of inquiry, and quickly resulted in a significantly larger number and depth of inquiries, including into systemic issues and matters of public controversy such as an incident involving adverse allegations arising from briefings claimed to have been given by the Security Intelligence Service to the Leader of the Opposition and the conduct of the agencies in parts of the conflict in Afghanistan. Senior political figures have at times criticised the extent of the broadened independent oversight that followed the 2014 reforms.