Australians can be confident intelligence agencies will protect the nation from foreign spies, the prime minister says, after two Russian-born Australians were charged with espionage offences.
Australian army private Kira Korolev, 40, and her labourer husband Igor, 62, allegedly worked to steal sensitive defence information before they were arrested and charged with preparing an espionage offence.
The couple have been remanded after neither applied for bail when they appeared in the Brisbane Arrest Court on Friday.
They face up to 15 years in jail if convicted.
No other individuals have so far been identified and there was no ongoing threat, the Australian Federal Police said.
Kira Korolev has been charged with unlawfully giving access to defence computer systems and unlawfully accessing, copying or disseminating information related to national security.
She was also charged with maintaining "a relationship with members or affiliates of Russian Federation intelligence services for the purposes of providing the aforementioned information", according to court documents.
The charges span alleged offences committed between December 6, 2022, and July 11, 2024, in Brisbane and Russia.
Her husband's charge relates to the unlawful access of Defence Department documents and national security information.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the army private had worked in the Australian Defence Force "for several years as an information systems technician".
The pair had been in Australia for about 10 years and were married when they arrived.
They were working together to obtain the sensitive information, police allege, but no further details have been given about the woman's security clearance or the nature of the documents accessed.
The army private travelled to Russia without declaring it to authorities while on long-term leave from the defence force in 2023 and coached her husband to access her official work account, police allege.
She allegedly guided him on how to access specific information and send it to her private email account while in Russia.
The army private was on leave when she was arrested, police confirmed.
Investigations are ongoing into whether the information made it into Russian hands.
Allegations the couple arrived in Australia as Kremlin plants or were cultivated and turned once onshore are also being investigated.
Kira Korolev became an Australian citizen in 2016 and her husband in 2020.
Anyone who sought to interfere with Australia's national interests would be held to account, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"If you engage in action that is against Australia's national interest, you will be caught by our security agencies," he told reporters in Brisbane.
The arrests were a clear reminder espionage and foreign interference was a serious threat, acting opposition leader Sussan Ley said.
"Our agencies are the best in the business of dealing with this very serious problem in our community," she said.
ASIO director-general Mike Burgess noted that security clearance vetting wasn't a panacea amid questions about how the pair, who retained Russian passports, were allegedly able to access classified information.
"We will work with defence to work through what is the teachable moment here if there are any," he told reporters in Canberra.
The Defence Department said it took all breaches of security seriously.
"In response to serious allegations, it is general practice to suspend an ADF member from service, including immediately cancelling the member's access to Defence bases and ICT systems," it said in a statement.
It's not unusual for defence members to access systems while on leave due to check-in requirements.
The preparation of espionage offence carries a maximum sentence of 15 years behind bars, however, the higher charge of espionage could be levelled later as more information comes to light.
It carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Australian intelligence agencies haven't named which Russian agency the pair allegedly worked for, or when they became aware of the alleged plot.
