The role of the 1st Intelligence Battalion is to provide deployable specialist intelligence operations support to the ADF and security intelligence support to Army.
The role of the Australian Intelligence Staff is to provide the intelligence support required by commanders and staffs at all levels of command. No successful operation can be planned or conducted until sufficient information has been obtained on an adversary and the prevailing conditions have been analysed by intelligence staff.
There are three levels of intelligence: strategic, operational and tactical. Strategic intelligence is concerned with military and economic capabilities of foreign nations. Operational intelligence is concerned with the potential military operations in a theatre level conflict whilst tactical intelligence is concerned with producing intelligence on an adversaries' organisation, capabilities, tactics and intentions and the geography of the battlefield.
Members of the Australian Intelligence Corps are employed in a number of Corps speciality areas including: Combat Intelligence, Counter Intelligence, Imagery Analysis and Linguists. Combat Intelligence is primarily concerned with the production of tactical intelligence. Counter-intelligence is primarily concerned with the protection of Army's personnel, information and equipment from foreign interference and from espionage, sabotage and subversion. Imagery analysis is concerned with the identification, interpretation and analysis of data collected from photographs and other sensors. Linguists are employed to translate foreign language documents and provide interpreter services to deployed forces.
The motto of 1st Intelligence Battalion is 'Periculum aliis arcete', which is Latin for 'Keeping others from danger'.