Army private arrested, accused of conspiring to spy for Russia

Australian Federal Police arrested the woman, who has been in Australia for 10 years, along with her 62-year-old husband, at their Everton Park home in Brisbane.

The pair, who hold Russian passports and have lived in Australia for more than a decade, have been charged with one count each of preparing for an espionage offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment.

They will appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court today.

The arrests were made as a result of Operation Bergazada, a counter foreign interference task force that includes the AFP, ASIO and other Commonwealth partners.

Its probe of the alleged offending, and the potential involvement of other individuals in Australia - including whether Russian diplomats were allegedly involved - is ongoing.

"The AFP will allege the individuals worked together to access ADF material that related to Australia's national security interests," AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw told reporters in Canberra this morning.

"We allege the woman was undertaking non-declared travel to Russia, whilst she was on long term leave from the Australian Defence Force.

"We allege that whilst she was in Russia, she instructed her husband, who remained in Australia, on how to log into her official work account from their Brisbane home.

"We allege her husband would access requested material and would send to his wife in Russia. We allege they sought that information with the intention of providing it to Russian authorities."

Whether the information was handed over to Russian authorities remains under investigation, as is the question of whether the woman allegedly joined the ADF with the intention of committing espionage for Russia's Federal Security Service.

The accused woman, who held a security clearance, has been an Australian citizen since 2016 and her husband obtained citizenship in 2020, Mr Kershaw said.

She has been employed in the Australian Defence Force for several years as an information systems technician.

The AFP Commissioner, speaking at a press conference alongside Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Director-General Mike Burgess, said the alleged criminality "has been disrupted" and "no significant compromise has been identified".

"Our Five Eyes partners and the Australian Government can be confident that the robust partnerships within the counter foreign interference task force mean we will continue to identify and disrupt espionage and foreign interference activity," he said.

Mr Burgess said the arrests demonstrated "an effective security culture, not deficient one", while also underlying that "the espionage threat is real".

"Multiple countries are seeking to steal Australia's secrets," he said.

"We cannot be naive and we cannot be complacent ... Foreign intelligence services are capable, determined and patient. They play the long game. The problem for them is ASIO does too."