On 14 May, former Australian army lawyer David McBride was sentenced to 5 years and 8 months in prison for leaking classified documents to journalists in 2017. The move follows a pre-trial ruling in November 2023 that blocked McBride’s use of a defence that his actions were in the public interest. The documents exposed details of war crimes committed by special forces in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2013. The documents informed the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s seven-part series ‘The Afghan Files,’ after which a subsequent investigation led by the Australian Defence Force found credible evidence that members of the Australian Special Air Service had committed war crimes between 2005-2013. Media experts have expressed serious concern that the case undermines press freedom in the interest of public journalism. Legal experts argue that McBride’s sentencing underscores the urgent need for whistleblower protection reform, with a spokesperson from Human Rights Law Centre stating that ‘this is a dark day for Australian democracy. The imprisonment of a whistleblower will have a grave chilling effect on potential truth-tellers.’ Transparency International has urged the government to enact comprehensive law reform and establish a whistleblower protection authority. McBride’s lawyers have said they would appeal the conviction.

Sources: Transparency International Australia, International Federation of Journalists, CNN, ABC News

On 12 February, parliament passed the Closing Loopholes (No. 2) Act, aimed at strengthening workers’ rights. The legislation marks a continuation of substantial employment reforms enacted in the preceding two years. Key provisions include providing protections for gig workers and contractors, revising enterprise bargaining practices, and fortifying measures against wage theft and underpayments. Noteworthy among the new provisions is the “right to disconnect,” affording workers protections from demands to work beyond their regular working hours. While some businesses and opposition lawmakers expressed concerns about the bill's particular impact on small enterprises and additional costs for consumers as well as enforcement, unions and labour rights groups have hailed the bill as an important step forward for worker rights.

Sources: SBS News, Reuters, Fair Work Ombudsman, Minter Ellison

On 6 December, the Australian parliament passed preventative detention laws to deal with the fallout from the High Court ruling on 8 November that the country’s system of indefinite immigrant detention was unlawful, triggering the release of over 140 detainees. The new laws allow courts to re-detain former immigration detainees if they are judged to pose “an unacceptable risk of committing serious violent or sexual offence.” Rights advocates and legal experts have raised serious concerns regarding the discriminatory nature of the post-sentence scheme, noting that the Act suffers from flawed risk assessment and punitive conditions,” which only apply to non-citizens.

Sources: ABC, The Guardian, Law Council of Australia, Parliament of Australia, Human Rights Law Centre

The New South Wales Supreme Court struck down parts of the state’s harsh anti-protest laws on 13 December, in a move welcomed by rights and environmentalist defenders. The legal challenge was mounted by the “two-knitting nannas” with the Environmental Defender’s Office as representatives. The ruling found that a law criminalizing protests that cause partial closures around ports and train stations is unconstitutional because it has a “chilling effect on political communication via protests and public assemblies.” While a partial yet significant win, rights advocates have called on the government to repeal the anti-protest laws still in place, including offences applied in circumstances where activities cause damage or the complete closure of facilities.  

Sources: Human Rights Watch, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian

On 8 November, Australia’s High Court issued a landmark ruling determining that the country’s system of indefinite immigration detention is unlawful, resulting in the release of over 140 detainees. Human rights experts welcomed the ruling, which overturns nearly a two decade-long practice by Australian authorities of holding noncitizens without visas who could not be removed from the country (for example because they were stateless) in indefinite detention. Rights advocates praised the verdict as a positive step towards a more humane immigration system, though significant reforms are still needed. However, the ruling stirred controversy within the government, leading the parliament to enact preventative detention laws that re-detain those convicted of serious crimes. Emergency powers were hastily passed, mandating additional restrictions on released detainees such as ankle bracelets and curfews - a matter which is currently being challenged in the High Court. Rights experts have stressed that all people should be treated equally before the law, regardless of their visa status.

Sources: Human Rights Watch, Refugee Council of Australia, Australian Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, ABC News (1), Australian Human Rights Law Centre, ABC News (2)