Correspondence Relating To The Defence And Security Media Advisory (dsma) Committee And The D‑notice System ​

Written by Claude Haiku 4.5 from the extracted text on 16 May 2026. It can miss or misread redacted and scanned pages. Check the source before relying on it.

The Department of Home Affairs released correspondence from September 2023 regarding media monitoring and D-notice systems. The documents detail an Age newspaper article reporting that Home Affairs Secretary Michael Pezzullo lobbied for expanded government powers to censor media reporting on national security matters. According to the article, Pezzullo sent text messages to a Liberal Party operative in 2019 seeking to convince Prime Minister Scott Morrison to introduce a "D-Notices" system enabling government agencies to pressure media organisations against publishing stories deemed damaging to national security. Pezzullo's advocacy intensified following AFP raids on journalists, particularly News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst, who had reported on his proposal to expand the Australian Signals Directorate's surveillance capabilities. The article notes Pezzullo also suggested the government could "criminalise" journalists reporting on government whistleblower information. Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil referred the matter to the Australian Public Service Commissioner for inquiry.