Secrecy Provisions Amendment (Repealing Offences) Bill 2026; Second Reading

Summary

The Australian government is cutting more than 300 criminal secrecy offences from federal law—reducing them by over a third—by repealing section 122.4 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 and removing criminal penalties from outdated provisions across dozens of Commonwealth Acts. Instead of criminalising all breaches of confidentiality rules, the reforms keep criminal liability only for the most sensitive information (like national security), replace most other breaches with non-criminal penalties, and introduce a new targeted offence for officials who misuse government information for personal gain or to cause harm. The changes also require the Attorney-General's permission before prosecuting journalists or news staff for secrecy offences, and protect ABC and SBS employees from being caught by overly broad secrecy laws—addressing the gap revealed when a Treasury information breach occurred through a consulting firm employee. This matters because it removes the risk of criminal prosecution for outdated or unnecessary secrecy rules while still protecting genuinely sensitive government information, strengthens media freedom, and makes the secrecy framework fairer and more proportionate.

What happens at this stage

The main debate on whether the chamber supports the broad purpose of the bill. Members speak to its overall merits and concerns rather than the fine print. The government outlines its policy intentions; the opposition and crossbench put their case. This is the stage that determines whether the bill proceeds at all.

Next: Consideration in Detail (House) or Committee of the Whole (Senate), where the bill is examined clause by clause