Secrecy Provisions Amendment (Repealing Offences) Bill 2026

Ms ROWLAND (Greenway—Attorney-General) (10:51): The government does not support this amendment. Subsection 122.5(4) of the Criminal Code provides a defence to the secrecy offences in the code where the conduct was engaged in for the purpose of disclosing information in accordance with the Public Interest Disclosure Act. To meet the defence, the defendant is required to point to evidence suggesting a reasonable possibility that they were disclosing in accordance with the PID Act.

The burden then shifts to the prosecution to disprove the defence beyond a reasonable doubt. The government is committed to the second tranche of PID reform. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Dr Freelander ): The question is that the amendment be agreed to.