Failure to act on alert over boat person

The Immigration Department failed to move an Egyptian man subject to an international terrorism alert into high-security detention despite police warnings.

And ASIO officers have raised concerns many people residing in the suburbs have not had proper security checks.

The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security yesterday released her report into the case of Sayed Abdellatif, who arrived by boat at Christmas Island with his family in May 2012.

_The West Australian _revealed last year Mr Abdellatif was in low- security detention, despite being named in an Interpol "red notice" alert for his supposed involvement in an al-Qaida linked group.

The furore that followed embarrassed the Gillard government and forced Julia Gillard to refer the matter to the nation's spy watchdog.

Inspector-General Vivienne Thom found the Immigration Department was aware as early as May 25, 2012, that Mr Abdellatif was a potential match for the red notice.

But it was not until April 17 last year, when _The West Australian _ inquired about the Egyptian, that he was moved from low security in South Australia to high security in Sydney. An Australian Federal Police officer raised concerns with Immigration in November 2012.

The IGIS report paints a chaotic picture of communications between Immigration, the AFP and ASIO, which is charged with security reviews of asylum seekers.

It suggests the system was so overwhelmed by the huge number of asylum seekers arriving that proper checks were not being made.

The Inspector-General said as part of her investigation senior ASIO officers made clear their "discomfort" at the processing regime, saying "large numbers" of people who were in the community had not had thorough security checks.

Refugee advocate Ian Rintoul said the IGIS report was a whitewash and failed to question the merits of the original red notice, which he said were often issued in Egypt for political purposes.