Australian Space Agency holds inaugural advisory group meeting

Stephen Kuper

09 September 2019

The Australian Space Agency has finalised the first meeting of the independent advisory group at a meeting in Canberra this week – with the advisory group bringing together expertise from across space law and regulation, global space context, R&D, venture capital, commercialisation and start-up activities.

The Australian Space Agency advisory group is non-statutory, independent and skills-based, the group aims to support the Australian Space Agency and its organisational structure, through:

providing advice to the head of the agency;
reviews and advises the strategic direction and performance of the agency;
supports the agency to achieve its purpose; and
is not a decision-making body and has no governing legislation.

Head of the Australian Space Agency, Dr Megan Clark, AC, welcomed the inaugural meeting, saying, "We welcome the extraordinary individual and collective expertise of the advisory group to support the agency to achieve its purpose to transform and grow a globally respected space industry."

The group’s initial discussion centred on:

strategic direction and performance of the agency;
overview of the Australian Civil Space Strategy and priority areas;
agency programs, including the Space Infrastructure Fund and International Space Investment initiative;
business development activities including national and international engagement; and
regulatory progress and activities to support Australia’s international obligations.

"We acknowledge the advisory group is an important part of our governance arrangements, consistent with our charter," Dr Clark added.

The advisory board’s purpose is to review and advise on the strategic direction and performance of the agency, and to support the agency to achieve its purpose.

The advisory board is a non-statutory, independent, skills-based board that provides advice to the agency head. It is not a decision-making body, and has no governing legislation.

The advisory board is responsible for providing advice to the agency head in the following areas:

The strategy, governance and best use of allocated budget of the agency;
The agency’s advice to the Australian government on civil space strategy and policy including the strategic prioritisation of space activities;
The agency’s systems of risk management and internal controls;
Legitimate interests held by other stakeholders and consideration of whole-of-government co-ordination;
Performance of the agency;
Consultation mechanisms; and
Building a culture for the agency consistent with its values and agreed behaviours.

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