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A spokesperson for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Thursday that parole had been granted to David McBride, who will now complete his sentence in the community while under supervision. The former Australian Defence Force legal officer has been receiving treatment for lung cancer and is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove part of his lung. ABC News reported that McBride became eligible for parole on August 13 after completing the two-year-three-month non-parole period of his sentence.
McBride pleaded guilty in 2023 to five counts including stealing defence documents and disclosing information to the media. The ACT Supreme Court sentenced him in May 2024 to five years and eight months in prison, as detailed in reports by JURIST and other outlets. Prosecutors maintained that his conduct had been driven by personal vindication and posed risks to national security and foreign relations, according to court proceedings covered by the BBC.
The leaked materials, provided to the ABC in 2017, underpinned the broadcaster’s Afghan Files series that revealed details about the conduct of Australia’s special forces. According to the Brereton Report published in 2020, there was credible evidence that Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners. This prompted the creation of the Office of the Special Investigator, which has finalised 39 out of 53 cases and laid war crimes charges against two former SAS members, including five counts against Ben Roberts-Smith and one against Oliver Schulz.
In his statement released by the Information Rights Project, McBride 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”. The whistleblower, who served as an army lawyer in Afghanistan, had argued that he acted out of a sense of duty to expose wrongdoing. His lawyer, Edwina Lloyd, described the parole grant as “the right one” and noted that his life “has been defined by service to Australia”.
The presiding judge acknowledged McBride’s good character but ruled that disclosing military secrets represented a gross breach of trust and pointed to his lack of contrition. A commentary in The Guardian following the original sentencing called the jailing a dark day for democracy and press freedom. Advocacy groups such as the Australian Greens have previously called for a full pardon using the royal prerogative of mercy.
A Guardian report noted that McBride was arrested in 2018 and his legal battle lasted years before the guilty plea. The cases against the charged soldiers are ongoing in the Australian courts. The Office of the Special Investigator continues its work into the remaining matters from the inquiry.
