A 58-year-old NSW man has been sentenced to three years and six months’ imprisonment for knowingly compiling reports for a foreign intelligence service, becoming the first person convicted of reckless foreign interference under laws introduced in 2018.
The Australian national was sentenced in the NSW District Court on 10 September, with a non-parole period of one year and 10 months.
A jury found him guilty on 13 March 2026 of reckless foreign interference, contrary to section 92.3 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
The man was charged in August 2023 by the Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce (CFITF), a joint initiative involving the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said the investigation found that foreign intelligence officers wanted the Australian to target people across sensitive areas of Australian society, including the intelligence community, Prime Minister’s Office, defence sector, judiciary and think tanks.
“This was a painstaking but important investigation,” Burgess said, describing foreign interference as “an assault on Australian sovereignty”.
The case marks the second successful prosecution for a foreign interference offence in Australia. In 2024, a Melbourne man was sentenced to two years and nine months’ imprisonment for a foreign interference offence.
Burgess said six other individuals had also been charged with espionage and foreign interference offences.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Cyber and Special Investigations Sandra Booth said community awareness remained one of the strongest defences against foreign interference.
“Foreign interference is an insidious crime,” Booth said, warning that foreign powers can use covert, deceptive or coercive activities to influence political processes, undermine national security or threaten communities.
“The AFP and its partners will use legislation and capability to identify those responsible,” she said.
The AFP has also developed a Foreign Interference in the Community factsheet, available in more than 40 languages, to help diaspora communities recognise potential signs of foreign interference.
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