# Australia

Government actions against journalists in Australia

[RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index). World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF); rank 1 is the freest.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

Australia is in Australia and New Zealand, Oceania. The record holds 3 incidents in which the government of Australia, or an official, court or legislature there, limited journalists' ability to report.

## Tactics used

- [Surveillance and subpoenas: 2](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=AU&tactic=surveillance_and_subpoenas), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/surveillance_and_subpoenas
- [Prior restraint: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=AU&tactic=prior_restraint), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint
- [Secrets and espionage laws: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=AU&tactic=secrets_and_espionage_laws), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/secrets_and_espionage_laws
- [Shutdowns and blocking: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=AU&tactic=shutdowns_and_blocking), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/shutdowns_and_blocking

## Heads of government at the time

- [Scott Morrison: 2 incidents](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/scott-morrison)
- [John Curtin: 1 incident](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/john-curtin)

## Incidents by year

### 2020

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| April 15, 2020 | [Australia's High Court invalidates warrant for raid on journalist Annika Smethurst](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-australia-high-court-invalidates-smethurst-warrant) | [Surveillance and subpoenas](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/surveillance_and_subpoenas) | Punish | [Scott Morrison](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/scott-morrison) | Reversed (May 27, 2020) |

### 2019

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| June 5, 2019 | [Australian Federal Police raid the national broadcaster over reporting on alleged war crimes in Afghanistan](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-australia-afp-raids-abc-afghan-files) | [Surveillance and subpoenas](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/surveillance_and_subpoenas) | Punish | [Scott Morrison](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/scott-morrison) | Reversed (October 15, 2020) |

### 1944

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| April 16, 1944 | [Australia's wartime government seizes a Sydney newspaper edition under press controls rules](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1944-australia-calwell-newspaper-seizure) | [Prior restraint](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/prior_restraint) | Silence | [John Curtin](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/john-curtin) | Reversed (April 18, 1944) |

Ladders: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders. Timeline: https://thewaronnews.com/timeline/country/au.

Download incidents in Australia. CSV, JSON or Markdown. CC BY 4.0; credit "The War On News, thewaronnews.com".
- CSV: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/au?format=csv
- JSON: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/au.json
- Markdown: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/au.md

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/au. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.