The National Assessments Bureau (NAB) provides independent and impartial assessments on events and developments relevant to New Zealand’s national security and international relations. These assessments inform decision making.Since 1975, New Zealand has had a primary all-source intelligence assessments agency, then called the External Intelligence Bureau, now called the National Assessments Bureau.
NAB’s history dates back to 1949 when, under a different name and with different functions, it was part of New Zealand’s military:
- 1949 Joint Intelligence Organisation (JIO)
- 1953 Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB)
- 1975 External Intelligence Bureau (EIB)
- 1988 External Assessments Bureau (EAB)
- 2010 National Assessments Bureau (NAB)
Over time NAB has evolved into a fully civilian agency, and since 1990 has been part of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The National Assessments Bureau sits within DPMC’s National Security Group.
In March 2010, the External Assessments Bureau became the National Assessments Bureau reflecting its domestic and external mandate. In addition to its core assessment function, the National Assessments Bureau picked up its role of co-ordinating intelligence assessment and promoting standards of intelligence analysis across the New Zealand Government.