AUSTRALIAN SECRET INTELLIGENCE SERVICE (ASIS)

Created in 1952 as an external intelligence collection agency, ASIS was modeled on the British Secret  Intelligence Service and was a covert branch of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, disavowed until its existence was formally acknowledged in 1977. A relatively small organization, ASIS has concentrated on  regional targets, especially Indonesia, and has been heavily dependent on the SIS for training and global  reporting. Following the public embarrassment over a paramilitary counterterrorism training exercise conducted  in November 1982 at the Sheraton Hotel in Melbourne and the appointment of a commission of inquiry,  responsibility for mounting such operations reverted to the Department of Defence.