4521 - SS - Review of Secrecy Offences in Part 5 6 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 Cth

The ALRC underlined the need to confine a deemed harm offence, based on the inherent sensitivity of intelligence information, to current and former intelligence staff and those who work with them noting:16 The ALRC considers that a prohibition on the disclosure of information obtained or generated by intelligence agencies is justified by the sensitive nature of the information and the special duti. [...] We disagree with the ONI’s view that the current specific secrecy offences in the ONI Act should be retained because of the absence of exceptions that are contained in the Criminal Code.29 We consider the presence of exceptions critical to maintaining the proportionality of deemed harm offences. [...] We submit that there is an important difference between the national security interests at stake in the continuation of bilateral and multilateral arrangements for intelligence cooperation (for example, the importance of the five-eyes alliance) and the more diffuse benefits of the continuation of international law enforcement arrangements pertaining to the enforcement of criminal offences more gen. [...] Alternatively, we recommend that the differentiation in objective seriousness between disclosures that cause harm to law enforcement interests (which is most pressing in the context of imminent threats to the safety of members of the public and less urgent in the context of enforcement of an administrative process) compared to prejudice to ‘security’, ‘defence’ or ‘international relations’ would b. [...] Secrecy Offences Supplementary Submission Page 10 In this regard, the ALRC observed:38 Because of the breadth of information obtained or generated by police services, the seriousness of the harm caused by the unauthorised disclosure of information in law enforcement agencies may range from negligible to severe, depending on the nature of the information and the timing and context of the disclosure.