The AJF commends the Albanese Government for reforming secrecy laws
The Albanese government has introduced a bill that, if passed, would significantly reform Australia’s deep culture of secrecy and improve the ability of journalists to report on the inner workings of government.
On Wednesday (April 1), the government introduced the Secrecy Provisions Amendment (Repealing Offences) Bill 2026, which removes criminal liability from more than 300 secrecy offences. That represents more than a third of Commonwealth secrecy provisions that currently attract criminal sanction.
The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom recognises the need for the government to protect genuinely sensitive information, but it has long argued that Australia’s deep culture of secrecy unnecessarily undermines democratic accountability and transparency.
The bill writes into law an earlier directive that required prosecutors to seek ministerial consent before prosecuting a journalist.
The AJF’s Executive Director Peter Greste said, “While the AJF is concerned that this risks politicising a decision to take a journalist to court, it is still likely to help press freedom. This is because the government of the day will have to weigh up the political consequences of going after a journalist.
“Australia’s overly complicated web of secrecy provisions has made it both difficult and dangerous for journalists and others to speak out about corruption, mismanagement and abuses of power. While there is still more work to be done to make reforms we think are necessary, this is an important step forward, and we want to acknowledge the government’s commitment.”
“At least part of the problem is that Australia has no constitutional protection for press freedom. We believe the solution is an overarching Media Freedom Act that would write that principle into our legislation. We have also called for the reform of Freedom of Information and Whistleblower laws and both still need significant work.”
The AJF is an advocacy group that campaigns for the freedom of journalists to perform their democratic role in investigating the powerful, and holding them to account.
For further information, contact the AJF on info@journalistsfreedom.com or sheridan@journalistsfreedom.com.