Documents And Correspondence In Relations To The Department And The Defence Security And Media Advisory (dsma) Committee ​

Written by Claude Haiku 4.5 from the extracted text on 28 Feb 2026. It can miss or misread redacted and scanned pages. Check the source before relying on it.

This disclosure contains correspondence and meeting documentation regarding Australian Government engagement with the UK Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Committee in March-May 2022. The documents detail a meeting between Australian officials and Brigadier Geoffrey Dodds, UK DSMA Secretary, to understand the British system for managing classified and sensitive information disclosure to media. The DSMA structure comprises the Secretary, support staff, and a committee of nominees from government agencies and major media outlets, with members cleared to Positive Vetting equivalent. The UK system uses DSMA Notices to flag sensitive information categories requiring pre-publication media advice, overseen by a dedicated Secretary. Substantial portions of both documents are redacted under various FOI exemptions, particularly sections addressing policy objectives, specific engagement strategies with journalists, recent initiatives, and next steps for potential Australian Government adoption or coordination of similar arrangements.