ASPI is organised as a Government-funded but independent policy research institute.

Corporate Structure

In order to ensure ASPI's independence, the institute has been set up as a Company Limited by Guarantee under the name The Australian Strategic Policy Institute Limited, A.C.N. 097 360 045. The Government is the sole member [shareholder] of the company. The CLG structure allows for other entities to become members in the future if that is desired.

As a Government-owned company, ASPI is subject to the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.

Under ASPI's Constitution, the Minister of Defence exercises the Government's responsibilities in relation to the company through his authority to appoint members of the company's board - the ASPI Council. The Minister has conveyed the Government's broad intentions and expectations in relation to ASPI in his Charter Letter to the ASPI Council.

As the Minister's Charter Letter says, "The Government's intention is that the Board of Directors [ASPI Council] should be entirely responsible for the organisation and operations of the Institute, within the framework provided by the Constitution, and in the light of the guidance provided by this letter."

The ASPI Council

ASPI's governing body, the ASPI Council, has nine members drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds. In appointing Council members, the Government has observed the following principles:

• The Chairman should be an independent person of significant public standing.
• The membership would include one nominee from each of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, to ensure that ASPI retains its non-partisan character.
• The Council should include at least one member with experience at senior levels in the ADF.
• The Executive Director of ASPI is appointed to the Council ex-officio.
• Other members should bring experience from a range of backgrounds including business.
• The Uhrig Review on governance structures, recommended that the Secretaries of Defence and Foreign Affairs and Trade be removed from the Council to prevent a possible conflict of interest.

The members of the ASPI Council are listed under Our Council.

The Council plans to meet about four times a year, and has formed a number of specialised committees including Finance & Audit, and Research, which will also meet several times a year.

Our Working Concept

The Institute's day to day work will be managed by the Director, Mr Hugh White. He is responsible to the Council for the direction and management of the operations of the Institute.

ASPI's guiding organisational principle is to contract out as much of our work as possible. We will not have a large permanent staff of researchers. Our products will be delivered primarily by project staff employed on a short-term project-specific basis as contractors, secondees or interns. This will help to give ASPI the capacity to cover a wide rage of topics, and the agility to respond quickly to emerging needs.

Our work will be organised around programs, covering Strategic and International, Operations and Capability, and Budget and Management issues as well as specific initiatives to engage the broader community. Each of these programs is the responsibility of one of our Program Managers.

Our Funding

ASPI has signed a Funding Agreement with the Commonwealth Government through the Department of Defence. Under this agreement, ASPI receives funding of between .1 million and $3 million per year (in 2001-02 prices) over the seven years of the agreement. The Commonwealth will review the operation of the Funding Agreement in early 2007.

While the Commonwealth provides the majority of our funding, since 2004 the Institute has endeavoured to develop new funding streams to enable ASPI to sustain and develop its program of work. Sources of additional funding include income earned for commissioned research projects, sponsorship of major events, and by accepting limited advertising in the Australian Defence Almanac. We also recover some of the cost of our public events by charging attendance fees, and we have implemented a membership scheme that helps defray some of the production costs for our publications. These initiatives help us meet our obligations under clause 4.11 of the Funding Agreement.