Australian army whistleblower released on parole after more than two years in jail

A whistleblower jailed for leaking military secrets about Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan has been released on parole after serving 27 months.

In 2024, David McBride was sentenced to five years and eight months after pleading guilty to stealing top secret defence documents and giving it to the media.

His actions later led to a landmark inquiry that found evidence that Australian forces had unlawfully killed 39 Afghans during the war.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said McBride’s “parole was considered and granted”. The ex-military lawyer, who is being treated for lung cancer, will serve the rest of his sentence in the community under supervision.

Shortly after the decision, advocacy group The Information Rights Project released a statement on McBride’s behalf, according to national broadcaster ABC.

He thanked his family “who never gave up on me and whose fighting spirit, love and humour inspired me every day” and praised “all my amazing supporters from around both Australia and the world who sent me such inspirational messages”.

McBride also revealed that he had been diagnosed with treatable lung cancer and would be having surgery to remove part of his lung.

His lawyer Edwina Lloyd described the decision to grant his parole as “the right one”, in a statement according to the ABC.

She said McBride’s life has been “defined by service to Australia”, both as a legal officer for the Australian Defence Forces (ADF) and having served time for his crimes.

During his court case, prosecutors argued that McBride’s actions had been motivated by “personal vindication”, and that the way he gathered, stored and then leaked the documents endangered Australia’s national security and foreign policy.

But McBride’s lawyers asked for leniency, saying he shared the information with “honourable” intentions and out of a sense of personal duty.

In sentencing McBride, the judge said while he was of “good character”, sharing military secrets was a “gross breach of trust” and he had shown “no contrition” for his actions.

The material he leaked to the ABC underpinned a series of reports in 2017 called The Afghan Files which provided unprecedented insight into Australia’s elite special forces in Afghanistan, including allegations of war crimes.

In 2020, the Brereton Report found “credible evidence” that elite soldiers have unlawfully killed 39 people.

A special watchdog – the Office of the Special Investigator – was set up to look into the actions of 19 ADF members. Of its 53 cases, 39 have been finalised and two former Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers have been charged.

Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, is facing five counts of the war crime of murder after he was charged earlier this year, while Oliver Schulz faces one count of the same charge.