Tactical assault group The tactical assault groups ( TAG ) are military counter - terrorism units in Australia . At present there are two tactical assault groups based on opposite sides of the country . As such they are individually identified as being either TAG East , based in Sydney or TAG West , based in Perth . Both groups are structured to conduct offensive domestic counter - terrorist operations focusing on direct action and hostage recovery . Each assault group maintains a short notice capability to conduct military operations beyond the scope of State and Federal Police Tactical Group s . These aims are achieved through various highly specialised skill sets , niche capabilities and supporting Australian Defence Force ( ADF ) units such as those from the Special Operations Engineer Regiment and 171st Aviation Squadron . History . 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 anti - terrorist agencies ( the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation ) were placed on heightened alert and a Protective Security Coordination Centre was established . 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 . He also directed that police forces around Australia absorb the counter - terrorist role . However , a study by Sir Robert Mark , at that time recently retired from the London Metropolitan Police , concluded that this was a task for ' sophisticated soldiery ' and should not be given to the police but rather to the Army . 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 August 1978 , it was proposed to allocate the task of raising , training and sustaining the conter - terrorist force to the Special Air Service Regiment to follow similar lines from the British Army with their counter - terrorist team from within their SAS . The force was to be called the TAG and was to be commanded by the Commanding Officer SASR . On 3 May 1979 , the Government approved the raising of a dedicated counter - terrorist force in the SASR , with final authorisation to raise the TAG given on 31 August 1979 . The tasks allocated to the group included : The training began officially in March 1980 and the force became fully operational in the following May . 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 . These operations were to be handled by a dedicated water operations team which included 17 Navy personnel from the RAN ’ s Clearance Diving Teams , who were placed under operational control of the SASR from 4 August 1980 as part of the TAG . TAG ( East ) was raised on 22 July 2002 in order to increase the ADF ' s domestic counter - terrorist capability . TAG ( East ) mirrors the original Tactical Assault Group , which was redesignated TAG ( West ) . The dual basing enables the ADF to readily respond to simultaneous and geographically separate domestic incidents . Organisation . At present there are two tactical assault groups , TAG East and TAG West . Each belongs to a different parent unit and each protect a different domestic geographical area of Australia . TAG East draws its members from the 2nd Commando Regiment , and rotates one company through the role for a pre - determined length of time . It is also supplemented with personnel from the Royal Australian Navy ' s Clearance Diving Team s . The Royal Australian Navy component consists of an operations officer , a clearance diver ( CD ) assault platoon , one team of CD maritime snipers , and an underwater medic . TAG East provides the primary response to terrorism within Australia 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 . TAG West has primary responsibility for offshore recovery operations , such as ship - boarding or incidents on oil platforms , and also international / overseas incidents . Both have world - class training facilities including advanced outdoor close - quarters battle ranges , MOUT villages , urban CT complexes , full - size aircraft mock - ups , and sniper ranges . Both participate in NATEX ( national anti - terrorism exercises ) . Several times each year , exercises are conducted to test elements of the Australian Defence Force including the two tactical assault groups , Special Operations Command ( Australia ) and the Incident Response Regiment . The exercises also involve relevant components of state and territory police forces , such as police tactical group s and intelligence agencies such as ASIO . TAG - West conducts annual training courses for police tactical group members from each state and territory . 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 . Operations . The Pong Su incident occurred during April 2003 when members of Special Operations Command ( Australia ) intercepted and boarded the Pong Su , a 4 , 000 ton North Korean ocean freighter in Australian territorial waters . The ship was flying the flag of Tuvalu at the time , known as flying a flag of convenience . The boarding of the freighter was carried out by members of both TAGs and the Incident Response Regiment whilst the ship was underway in rough seas . The reason for apprehending the ship was that it was suspected of being involved in smuggling almost 125 kg ( 300 pounds ) of heroin into Australia . The Pong Su was berthed in Sydney and the crew extradited to Victoria for prosecution . The Pong Su was later sunk by a Royal Australian Air Force F - 111 , using two 2000 lb laser - guided bombs .