Security company paid for private investigator to ‘aggressively’ pursue confidential sources of journalists and activists, documents show

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The security company paid millions by the Australian government to protect asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru hired a private investigator that attempted to “aggressively” pursue potential confidential sources of journalists and activists writing about Australia’s offshore detention centres.

Guardian Australia can reveal that Wilson Security, which is subcontracted by Broadspectrum (formerly Transfield Services) to provide security at the Manus Island and Nauru detention centres, hired a private investigator at least twice in 2015 to determine the sources of confidential disclosures to news organisations and activists.

Two investigation reports titled “media leaks investigation”, written by a Queensland-based private investigator, partially released under freedom of information laws, reveal that Wilson Security’s regional operations manager requested the investigation, but indicate Wilson Security was in turn directed to undertake it.

The immigration department has refused to confirm whether it directed Wilson Security to undertake the investigation.

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The reports have sparked strong rebukes from Australia’s journalists’ union, Labor and the Greens. The opposition immigration spokesman, Shayne Neumann, questioned whether the investigation was undertaken with the consent or approval of the immigration minister, Peter Dutton.

The first investigation report of the private investigator, whose identity has been redacted by the immigration department, said: “We have been asked to investigate … the unauthorised release of a screen shot of Wilson Security BAE System and media releases of confidential information.

“The list of people with access to the information was established and aggressively pursued.”

The second report continued: “On the 1st July 2015 Wilson Security were asked to arrange an independent investigation of specific instances in relation to information that had leaked to the media.”

The report outlines that the investigation targeted the source of reports written by activist Shane Bazzi about sexual assault and self-harm on Manus Island, as well as a Guardian Australia report into a guard on Manus Island being sacked for allegedly assaulting a handcuffed asylum seeker.

The endeavours of the investigator appear to have been fruitless. The report said: “We found no evidence of any Wilson Security employee distributing, copying, printing or otherwise disclosing the content of that file in full or in part to any person, organisation or entity.”

Many of the specific steps undertaken by the private investigator have been redacted by the immigration department, and it is unclear whether they directly monitored journalists as well.

Neumann said it was “an extraordinary step for a company to be investigating journalists’ sources”.

“Was this investigation undertaken with the consent or approval of minister Dutton?” he said. “Was the private investigation limited to Wilson employees, or did it extend to journalists?

“Once again we’ve seen the operation of Australian-funded offshore detention centres shrouded in secrecy with a lack of transparency.”

Greens senator Nick McKim said the revelations showed Wilson Security “is a company that is under siege”.

“This is a continuation of very poor behaviour by Wilson Security,” he said. “We know they were spying on Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young when she was on Nauru. A private company basically spying on journalists is quite outrageous really.”

The revelation also drew condemnation from the head of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Paul Murphy.

“The use of private investigators to ‘aggressively pursue’ the source of published stories is next level persecution of whistleblowers. It is disgraceful and should be unacceptable in a democracy,” Murphy said.

“Unfortunately it is another sign that persecuting whistleblowers has become a national pastime, encouraged by the government and its agencies.

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“The raft of legislation for mass data retention, snooping on journalists and their sources, criminalising the reporting of public interest stories, has created an atmosphere where this type of outrageous and aggressive conduct is condoned when it should be condemned.”

A spokesman for Wilson Security said: “To ensure the privacy of asylum seekers and our staff is maintained, it is Wilson Security’s policy to investigate any suspected breaches of privacy or confidentiality.

“The primary purpose of any investigation into a breach of confidentiality or privacy is to ensure the ongoing improvement of our policies and procedures.”

A spokesman for the immigration department said: “The FOI documents speak for themselves. They contain no reference or inference of activity asserted in your questions.

“Allegations of unauthorised disclosure are referred and investigated consistent with relevant law.

“The FOI decision documents explain why some information could not be released.”

The hiring of a private investigator appears to be a new tactic by the company. Previously Wilson Security came under heavy scrutiny after it was revealed a group of staff were tasked to spy on Hanson-Young while she was on Nauru.

The Australian government’s secrecy surrounding its immigration detention policies has been a source of controversy and criticism. Previously the secretary of the immigration department, Michael Pezzullo, has referred a number of stories by journalists relating to immigration matters to the Australian federal police in a bid to uncover their sources.

When asked whether Pezzullo had directed the investigation to occur, a spokesman said: “The secretary of the department had no role in the manner Wilson chose to undertake its investigation.”

Wilson Security is likely to face significant scrutiny in an upcoming Australian parliamentary inquiry sparked by the Nauru files, a cache of leaked documents that revealed the devastating harm and trauma caused to children and adults held by Australia on the remote pacific island of Nauru.

Guardian Australia revealed as part of the investigation that the company did not disclose at least 16 cases of sexual violence and child abuse to the Australian parliament. The company is likely to face questions over the previous evidence it provided to the Senate in the upcoming hearings.

Both Wilson Security and Broadspectrum have announced they will not seek further tenders to work on Australia’s offshore detention centres.

Guardian Australia’s request for documents also included a separate report commissioned by Wilson Security into staff misconduct allegations on Nauru.

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This report was referred to in an August 2015 submission to the Senate that said the company had “recently engaged an independent company to review all investigations involving staff misconduct at the regional processing centre”.

But the department refused to release the report, saying that it was provided by an unnamed company to Wilson Security on the basis that it was legal advice and was privileged information.

McKim said the Greens would use the upcoming Senate inquiry to seek to gain access to a full unredacted version of the report.

“That’s the first time that level of knowledge about that report has come to my attention,” he said.

“I’ll be very keen for the committee to get a completely unredacted version of that report, and I will be pursuing that through the committee process.”

A Wilson Security spokesman said: “The dominant purpose of the document was to provide legal advice to Wilson Security.”

The Senate inquiry is accepting submissions relating to both Manus Island and Nauru until November.

Contact Paul Farrell securely using the Signal messaging app on +61 457 262 172 or using the Guardian’s Securedrop server