The concerns come after the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Dr Vivienne Thom, confirmed a recruitment drive had been launched after amendments to national security legislation passed the House of Representatives on October 1 and after the Prime Minister increased the resources of her office in August.

The amendments detailed in the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2014 grant Australian spies the power to monitor the entire Australian internet with just one warrant and could mean journalists and whistleblowers are jailed for up to 10 years should they disclose information about an ASIO "special intelligence operation".

Professor George Williams from the UNSW Tobin Centre of Public Law said the recruitment of up to five additional IGIS staff was "certainly welcome", although he was uncertain whether additional staff would strengthen oversight.

"I think it has been regarded for some time that IGIS is underfunded and has not kept up with the enormous increase of personnel within the intelligence community and the significant expansion of their powers," he said.

According to the job description, new IGIS recruits will assist inspections "largely focused on the use of intrusive powers by Australian intelligence agencies" including ASIO search warrants and telecommunication interception powers.

Dr Thom said a significant component of their work would be to conduct inspections of operational activities which seek to provide assurances that intelligence agencies are complying with relevant legislative and policy frameworks, and "to identify issues before there is a need for major remedial action".

Professor Williams said the resources of the Inspector-General's office needed to reflect the scale of powers recently granted to the intelligence community if they were to provide effective oversight.

"We need to be realistic about what [IGIS] can do and in particular there is a real limitation when the agencies are granted broad powers as they have been," he said.

"It just illustrates that even when you have a well-resourced IGIS you still need to have the right laws to govern the intelligence agencies."

ANU College of Law associate professor Matthew Rimmer said the oversight capabilities of the IGIS were limited despite the recruitment drive and a "Magna Carta" was needed for the internet rather than a system of surveillance.

"I am of the view that IGIS is insufficient and inadequate in guarding the human rights of Australian citizens, especially in an age of mass dragnet surveillance," he said.

"I do not think that five additional staff members will be sufficient to ensure the adequate oversight of new powers granted to the Australian intelligence community.

"The IGIS is a bit of a paper tiger and provides weak oversight."

On September 24, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said Australia's oversight mechanisms for intelligence operations were relatively weak compared with German and US parliamentary intelligence committees and called for similar initiatives to be established in Australia.

"It lacks institutionalised review of surveillance programs from both the legislative and judicial branches of government," he said.

"Despite claims that Australia's courts may be unable to evaluate intelligence expertly, courts routinely evaluate complex evidence in other areas from complex corporate transactions to elaborate taxation schemes and highly structured trust arrangements."

Recent IGIS activities include an inquiry into the attendance of legal representatives at ASIO interviews, an inquiry into the use of weapons and self-defence techniques in ASIS, and an inquiry into the analytic independence.

The Inspector-General's office in Barton currently has 12 staff, with most already involved in investigation and review procedures.

The current recruitment drive, which closes on October 24, seeks to hire up to five new staff with payment ranging from $70,000 to $133,967.