Tactical assault group

[2] The Sydney Hilton bombing on 13 February 1978 was the catalyst for the Commonwealth Government to initiate an urgent review of security procedures to combat the threat of international terrorism.

The Prime Minister proposed the establishment of a Standing Advisory Committee on Commonwealth State Cooperation for Protection against Violence, which would be primarily responsible for the coordination and funding of various organisations involved.

Sir Robert's advice was further strengthened by the Ironbark Report, written by Colonel John Essex-Clark, in which he advised the urgent formation of a special counter-terrorist force within the Army.

In July 1980, the SASR was directed to develop an offshore (maritime) capability, concerned primarily with retaking Bass Strait oil rigs in the event of terrorist capture.

[5] The Royal Australian Navy component consists of an operations officer, a clearance diver (CD) assault platoon, and an underwater medic.

[8] TAG West draws its members from the Special Air Service Regiment and rotates one squadron through the role for a pre-determined length of time.

[12] Each year as part of the National Counter-Terrorist Committee Skills Enhancement Course, each state and territory sends several members of its PTG to participate in a concentrated three-week course to strengthen standards of policing in urban counter-terrorist tactics and ensure all states are training consistently to the same codes and standards of counter-terrorism.

On 12 December 2016, Tactical Assault Group members from TAG EAST conducted a boarding of the 50m former Japanese whaling vessel Kaiyo Maru No.

The vessel had been monitored by Maritime Border Command loitering and circling more than 200 nautical miles off the southern coast of Australia and was suspected to be involved in drug smuggling.