This page contains information for holders of clearances, and managers of holders of clearances sponsored by the South Australian Government's Department of the Premier and Cabinet.
Personal behaviour
Clearance holders are required to maintain a level of personal behaviour as would be expected of someone in a position of trust. This includes:
- Avoiding the intake of excessive amounts of alcohol
- Not taking non-prescribed prescription or illegal recreational drugs
- Performing duties with care, diligence and with adherence to relevant security requirements
For a full list of responsibilities of clearance holders, please see the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) website.
Reporting changes in circumstances
Additionally, clearance holders are required to notify AGSVA of changes to personal circumstances that may affect your suitability to hold a security clearance. Changes that clearance holders are required to notify AGSVA of include :
- Change in relationship status
- Criminal charges, warnings or convictions
- Any incident that significantly affects your financial situation
- Any incident that significantly affects your personal life or physical wellbeing
- Contacts with foreign nationals if they are enduring or of substance
- Contact with foreign intelligence officials or people you suspect may be foreign intelligence officials
- Membership of associations
- Change in religious or political beliefs
For a full list of reportable changes, please see the AGSVA website.
Clearance holders must use myClearance to notify AGSVA of changes in circumstances.
For further information around maintaining your security clearance, please see the AGSVA website.
Security incidents involving clearances holders must be reported to the State Security Officer in addition to the Agency Security Adviser of the relevant agency.
The table below is from the South Australian Protective Security Framework (SAPSF) GOVSEC1:Security Governance and provides examples of security incidents and significant security incidents. This list is not exhaustive and if in doubt, please contact the State Security Officer.
| Examples of security incidents | Examples of significant security incidents |
|---|---|
| Criminal actions such as actual or attempted theft, break and enter, vandalism or assault | Espionage or suspected espionage |
| Loss of personal information that is likely to result in serious harm | Actual or suspected compromise of material at any level, including tampering with security containers or systems |
| Security classified material not properly secured or stored | Loss, compromise, suspected compromise, theft or attempted theft of classified equipment |
| Security classified material left in inappropriate waste bins or government assets to be sold or disposed of | Actual or attempted unauthorised access to an alarm system covering a secured area where security classified information is stored |
| Deliberate disregard of implementing an SAPSF requirement | Loss of material classified PROTECTED or above, or significant quantities of material of a lower classification |
| Access passes or identification documents lost or left unsecured | Recovery or previously unreported missing classified material or equipment |
| Incorrect handling of security or classified marked information, such as a failure to provide the required protection during transfers or transmission resulting in a data spill on an electronic information network or system | Unauthorised disclosure of official or classified information, significant loss or compromise of cryptographic keying material, or a significant breach of ICT systems |
| Compromise of keys to security locks, or of combinations settings | Continuous breaches involving the same person or work area where the combination of the events warrants an investigation |
| Sharing computer passwords | Loss, theft, attempted theft, recovery or suspicious incidents involving weapons, ammunitions, explosives or hazardous materials including chemical, biological, radioactive or nuclear |
| Actual or suspected hacking into any ICT system |
Clearance holders must report any contact with another person or group that they believe is suspicious, unusual, or persistent, or where ongoing contact with a foreign national has been established. Security clearance holders must report any such contact to their Agency Security Advisor and the SAPSF team.
It is recommended that other agency employees also report any activity they deem fits the above description via the same processes.
If you are required to upgrade or downgrade your clearance level, such as from Baseline to Negative Vetting 1 or vice versa, please contact the State Security Officer.
If you no longer require a security clearance, please contact the State Security Officer.
If you require further information, please contact the State Security Officer.