Ten months have passed since its official opening, and in about another seven months Australia's spy agency should finally move into its new Canberra headquarters.
The $680 million building on the northern side of Lake Burley Griffin has been plagued by delays and budget blowouts, but Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director-general David Irvine can see a conclusion.
"The first cohorts should be going in towards the end of the year (or) early next year," he told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd officially opened the imposing, multistorey building in July 2013, more than a year after it was due to be ready.
Since then, windows have fallen off the building, and problems remain to be fixed.
"Further remediation work will still be required on the air-conditioning system," Mr Irvine said.
Those problems stem from difficulties with the building's automatic fire doors. The access system also has problems.
After the repairs, Mr Irvine expects to get the keys in mid-June, and after some top-secret tweaking, such as with the wiring and internal fitout, the workers can move in.
However, Mr Irvine will not get the chance to work in the new building. He retires in September.
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