An Australian soldier and her husband have been arrested and each charged with spying for Russia.
Investigators said the couple, who were Russian-born Australian citizens, obtained Australian Defence Force (ADF) data and shared it with Moscow.
However, Australian police said there had been no “significant breach” of military secrets.
It is the first time Australia's stricter foreign interference laws, introduced in 2018, have been used to bring espionage charges.
The 40-year-old soldier and her 62-year-old husband are due to appear in court in Brisbane later on Friday. Each is charged with conspiracy to commit espionage, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had been “extensively briefed” by national security agencies but would not comment directly on the case, which is currently before the courts.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the couple had lived in Australia for more than a decade before committing the alleged crimes and both had become citizens several years earlier.
According to police, the man was self-employed and the woman worked for the military as an information systems technician, and she had security clearance for that role.
Ms Kershaw claimed that while on leave from the ADF, she secretly travelled to Russia and instructed her husband to access her work accounts and send her sensitive material, which could then be passed on to Russian authorities.
Secretary Kershaw added that the investigation into what material was passed on to them was still ongoing and that the charges could be upgraded.
Speaking to reporters together on Friday, Kershaw and Australian intelligence chief Mike Burgess both declined to answer questions about the nature of the document or how authorities learned of the alleged crimes.
But Mr Burgess said the ongoing threat of espionage was “real”.
“There are countries out there trying to steal Australia's secrets. We can't be naive and we can't be complacent.”
“If you are spying in this country, we are looking for you. If you are spying in this country, we are looking for you,” he added.
Mr Kershaw stressed that Australia's allies could be “confident” that Australia would “continue to detect and disrupt espionage and foreign interference activities”.
The ADF said in a statement that it was aware that one of its members had been arrested and that it “takes all security breaches seriously”.
