An Australian soldier and her husband are accused of accessing ADF material for Russia.
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00:00with the first ever espionage related charge since new laws were introduced in
00:072018. They are a woman aged 40 and a man aged 62. The woman is an army private in
00:17the Australian Defence Force. The AFP arrested the married couple yesterday
00:23morning at their Everton Park home in Brisbane. They have been charged with one
00:30count each of preparing for an espionage offence which carries a maximum penalty
00:37of 15 years imprisonment. They will appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court
00:43today. The Counter Foreign Interference Task Force which includes AFP, ASIO and
00:51other Commonwealth partners has dedicated significant resources and capability to
00:58Operation Burgosada. The AFP will allege the individuals worked together to access
01:05Australian Defence Force material that related to Australia's national security
01:10interests. We allege the woman was undertaking non-declared travel to
01:17Russia whilst she was on long-term leave from the Australian Defence Force. We
01:24allege that while she was in Russia she instructed her husband who remained in
01:30Australia on how to log into her official work account from their Brisbane
01:36home. We allege her husband would access requested material and would send to his
01:43wife in Russia. We allege they sought that information with the intention of
01:49providing it to Russian authorities. Whether that information was handed over
01:55remains a key focus of our investigation. There are a couple of critical points
02:02that I want to make today. This alleged criminality has been disrupted. Currently
02:10no significant compromise has been identified. Our Five Eyes partners and the
02:17Australian Government can be confident that the robust partnerships within the
02:22Counter Foreign Interference Task Force mean we will continue to identify and
02:26disrupt espionage and foreign interference activity. I want to thank the
02:32very clever members of the AFP, ASIO and those individuals in the task force for
02:37their ingenuity and determination. Finally, I will also take an opportunity to speak to the
02:44public and separately state actors. Firstly to the Australian public,
02:49espionage is not a victimless crime and it is certainly growing. It has the
02:55potential to impact on Australia's sovereignty, safety and way of life. It
03:00happens in the shadows and the daylight and I ask Australians to call the
03:04National Security Hotline on 1800 123 400 if they feel something does not seem
03:10right. Secondly, we know Western democracies, including Australia, are being
03:16targeted by state actors but Australia's intelligence and law enforcement agencies
03:21have the laws, capability and tradecraft to identify these spies and those
03:27seeking to undermine Australia's interests.