Now lawDemocracy & Government Introduced in the House of Representatives, 02 Mar 2026

Secret information can now go to a Royal Commission

Spies, police, soldiers and public servants (people who work for the government) must follow strict secrecy laws. This law lets them give secret facts to a Royal Commission without being charged. A Royal Commission is the top level of public investigation. The first one covered looks into antisemitism.

Official name: Royal Commissions Legislation Amendment (Protections for Providing Information) Bill 2026

Who it affects

• Current and former spies, soldiers, police and public servants: They can give secret facts to a covered Royal Commission without being charged under secrecy laws, if they follow the agreed rules.
• People called to a Royal Commission: They can no longer refuse to hand over spy or secret facts by pointing to a secrecy law.
• Lawyers: People can share secret facts with their lawyer to get advice. For material marked secret, the lawyer needs a security clearance. That is official approval to see secret material.
• The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion: It can now get and use spy facts and secret security facts in its work.

Secrecy laws gag inquiry witnesses

A Royal Commission is the top level of public investigation in Australia. It can order people to answer questions and hand over papers.

Many people who know useful things must follow secrecy laws. These include staff of spy agencies, the Defence Force, police and other public servants. If they share secret facts, even with a Royal Commission, they can be charged with a crime.

This problem has come up before. In 2022 the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide put out an early report. It said serving and former soldiers feared being charged if they told their stories.

The Attorney-General's Department runs the justice system for the government. In 2023 it checked secrecy laws. It also called for change.

The government also wanted these protections ready for the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. Antisemitism means hatred of Jewish people. That Royal Commission was set up on 9 January 2026. The government says it badly needs spy facts and secret security facts.

What counts as secret

The law covers two kinds of facts. The first is spy information. It is gathered or made by Australia's six spy agencies. It also covers facts about their work, or that name their staff or agents.

Those agencies include the domestic spy agency, which watches for threats inside Australia. They also include the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, which spies overseas. Another is the Australian Signals Directorate, which spies on electronic messages and protects against cyber attacks.

The second kind is secret facts about how police and security agencies work. That means their sources, methods or operations. It also covers facts from a foreign government that does not want them made public.

The agencies here include the Australian Federal Police, the Defence Force and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. That is the national agency that gathers facts on crime gangs. They also include the agency that tracks dirty money. So does the Home Affairs department, which looks after borders and security. It runs the Australian Border Force, the border police.

Secrecy laws stop blocking

A Royal Commission can demand papers, facts or answers. Under the Royal Commissions Act, the law that sets up Royal Commissions, it is a crime to refuse. There is a way out if you have a good excuse.

This law says a secrecy rule is not a good excuse to hold back secret facts. The same goes for refusing to answer a question.

This only applies to Royal Commissions on a set list. The government keeps that list in detailed rules it writes without a new vote.

Protection for people who share

In return, people who hand over these facts are protected. They do not commit a crime. They cannot be fined under a secrecy law for doing it.

The facts also cannot be used against them in a later court case about breaking a secrecy law.

The protection applies whether the person speaks up on their own or is ordered to. If they come forward on their own, they must have good reason to think the facts matter.

There is one condition. The person must follow the steps in a written deal. The deal is between the Royal Commission and the government. It says how the facts are stored, used and given back. These deals must be made public.

Say a former army officer knows about a secret operation that matters to a Royal Commission. If she follows the public steps, she can tell the Royal Commission. She need not fear a secrecy charge.

The protection does not cover crimes under the Royal Commissions Act itself, such as lying to the Royal Commission.

Getting legal advice

People often need a lawyer before they speak to a Royal Commission. The law lets a person share secret facts with an Australian lawyer. They can do this to get advice about their rights and duties.

Some facts are classified, which means officially marked secret. If the person knows, or should know, the facts are classified, the lawyer must have the right security clearance. The person must also follow any public deal that covers talking to lawyers.

If those rules are met, the person cannot be charged under a secrecy law for telling their lawyer.

What the Commission can do

The Royal Commission can use the facts to do its job, even though secrecy laws would normally stop it. It can also pass them on in the ways the Royal Commissions Act already allows. One example is passing them to another Royal Commission.

It must think about the public deals when it uses or shares the facts.

Antisemitism inquiry covered first

The new protections only apply to Royal Commissions on the list. This law adds the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion to that list.

Some future Royal Commissions may need to see secret facts. The government can add them to the list.

A new Criminal Code defence

The Criminal Code is the main federal law that lists crimes. It has a set of secrecy crimes for people who leak federal government facts. It already lets people off for giving facts to a court or a watchdog. This law adds a new defence for giving facts to a Royal Commission.

The defence applies if the person's main aim was to give the facts to a Royal Commission. They must also have had good reason to think the facts mattered to its work.

It covers getting ready to hand over facts too, such as making a copy. The facts do not have to have reached the Royal Commission.

There are limits. It only covers federal Royal Commissions that exist at the time. Someone who posts secrets on a website cannot use it, even if a Royal Commission later reads them.

The person using the defence must point to some proof for it. Then the police lawyers must prove the defence does not apply. The government says this is fair, because only the person knows why they acted.

Start date

This bill is now law. It was brought to the House of Representatives on 2 March 2026. That is the house of Parliament where the government is formed. The House passed it on 3 March.

The Senate, Parliament's second house, passed it on 12 March 2026. The Governor-General, the King's representative, signed it into law on 13 March 2026. Its official number is Act No. 7 of 2026. It started the next day.

The new rules apply to facts given on or after that day. They apply to Royal Commissions already running, including the one on antisemitism.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum
• Bills Digest

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