I, George Brandis QC, Attorney-General of Australia, having consulted the Director of Public Prosecutions (‘the Director’), give the following direction under subsection 8(1) of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983.

The Director must not proceed with a prosecution of a person for alleged contravention of the following sections without the written consent of the Attorney-General:

(a)    section 35P of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979

(b)   section 15HK of the Crimes Act 1914

(c)    section 15HL of the Crimes Act 1914; or

(d)   section 3ZZHA of the Crimes Act 1914 

where the person is a journalist and the facts constituting the alleged offence relate to the work of the person in a professional capacity as a journalist.

Dated 30 October 2014

Parliament House  Canberra  ACT  2600    Telephone: (02) 6277 7300  Facsimile: (02) 6273 4102