As Australia faces its most challenging strategic outlook since World War II, there is no more important security issue of Australia as the increased capabilities of our intelligence agencies and the development of a robust national system. security policy. The challenge facing Australia is to define our national security priorities in today's globalized world and create a national security architecture for the 21st century that can enable the Australian Intelligence Communities (AIC) to adequately protect Australia and its interests. In order to combat the growing aspects of asymmetric and transnational threats, the Australian Government needed to implement a National Security Policy (NSP) that was effective, adaptable, flexible, easily transferable and responsive to changes in the coming years. to be able to meet these needs. Preserving national security is a fundamental duty of government and, in fact, there can be no greater interest. In this essay I will provide the details of the Australian National Security Statement (NSS) outlining our premier national security policy and summarize the roles and responsibilities of the AIC agencies. I will discuss the impact this has on foreign policy and provide an overview of how the NSS was established as well as the key highlights that led to the reform and restructuring of the NSP. Additionally, I will analyze the NSP in a number of key policy areas such as climate, migration and medicine. Finally, I will consider whether the NSS has produced better outcomes for the security of all Australians and Australia.Australia's first national security policyOn 4 December 2008, the Hon Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia...... middle of paper .. ....ity in the Australian Intelligence Community', in C Ungerer (ed.), Australian Foreign Policy in the Age of Terror, UNSW Press, Sydney. Matthews, J 1989, 'Redefining Security', Foreign Affairs, 68(2), 162-177. Oatley, C 2000, 'Australia's National Security Framework A Look to the Future', Working Paper 61 presented to the Australian Defense Studies Centre, Canberra, October. O'Connor, M 2006, 'Australia's Vulnerabilities', Defender, Winter, pp. 19-23. Ungerer, C 2008, “The Intelligence Reform Agenda: What Next?” », Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Policy Analysis, no. 20.Ungerer, C 2008a, “A new agenda for national security”, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, special report, no. 15.Ungerer, C 2009, “Connecting the docs: towards an integrated national security strategy”, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Policy Analysis, no.. 53.