Foreign interference inquiry findings

FINDINGS OF REPORT ON FOREIGN INTERFERENCE LAWS:

* Bipartisan agreement that laws should be passed.

* When dealing with espionage, foreign interference and sabotage offences "prejudice to national security" can't merely be embarrassment to Australia alone, and must also include a degree of damage or harm.

* Clear definition needed of what is a "foreign political organisation".

* Review is needed into existing secrecy provisions in other laws.

* Five-year sunset clause on section dealing with "unauthorised disclosure of information by current and former Commonwealth officers".

* Legal defence for journalists where the person "reasonably believed that dealing with or holding the information was in the public interest".

* Attorney-General's consent needed for a prosecution under the proposed secrecy offences.

* Reduce proposed maximum penalty for the secrecy offences to seven years' jail for conduct involving communication of information, and three years for other dealings.

* Maximum penalty for the aggravated secrecy offences to be 10 years' jail for conduct involving communication of information and five years for other dealings.

* The term 'support' only refers to 'material support', not news reporting, editorial or opinion writing and humanitarian assistance.

* Attorney-General should be able to take into consideration, before an espionage charge is laid, whether a person is dealing with national security information for academic purposes.