The ABC has written to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton asking for any police action into two of the broadcaster's journalists to be dropped.

Key points: The managing director of the ABC said the broadcaster preferred "to break news rather than be the news"

The managing director of the ABC said the broadcaster preferred "to break news rather than be the news" He has written to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton following police raids of its Sydney headquarters last month

He has written to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton following police raids of its Sydney headquarters last month The raids were related to 2017 stories revealing allegations of unlawful killings and misconduct by Australian special forces in Afghanistan

Australian Federal Police raided the ABC's Sydney headquarters last month, over a series of 2017 stories known as the Afghan Files.

The stories, by ABC investigative journalists Dan Oakes and Sam Clark, revealed allegations of unlawful killings and misconduct by Australian special forces in Afghanistan and were based on hundreds of pages of leaked secret Defence documents.

In an email to staff, ABC managing director David Anderson said the broadcaster preferred "to break news rather than be the news".

"As I flagged on 24 June, the ABC is challenging the legality of the raid and is seeking the return of all documents. The action will begin in the Federal Court in early August," he said.

"We are disappointed that the fate of our journalists, Dan Oakes and Sam Clark, remains unclear.

"We have written to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who has responsibility for the AFP, asking that any action against the pair cease.

"Failing that, that the ABC be briefed on when and how the AFP action will be resolved."

It is understood News Corp has written a similar letter to Mr Dutton.

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese described Mr Anderson's call as "common sense".

"These are journalists that are doing their job," he said.

"The fact is the idea that they were under investigation was an idea that was dismissed by the Government just weeks ago."

A spokesman for the AFP said it was not appropriate to comment as the investigation was ongoing.

Mr Dutton declined to provide comment.

Widespread condemnation

The raids on the ABC and the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst attracted widespread condemnation from media outlets as an attack on press freedom.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 37 seconds 37 s The Australian Federal Police entering the ABC headquarters in Ultimo (Photo - ABC News: Taryn Southcombe)

Parliament's powerful security and intelligence committee is set to examine the impact of law enforcement and intelligence powers on freedom of the press, with a report due by mid-October.

Mr Anderson said the ABC had reservations about the inquiry's terms of reference and the appropriateness of the committee to look into the matter, but would continue to argue the case for reform.

"The public trust the ABC to speak truth to power and to shine the spotlight into dark corners," he said.

"We cannot fulfil our legislative remit if our journalists are intimidated or treated like criminals."

Mr Anderson was part of a group of media representatives who met with the Attorney-General and the Communications Minister in Canberra last week to demand none of the journalists involved in the raids faced charges.

Australia offering excuse to 'every other world leader'

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 2 minutes 22 seconds 2 m 22 s Amal Clooney hits out at Australia's press crackdown

Mr Anderson's request came after human rights lawyer Amal Clooney warned that Australia's actions could offer "every other leader in the world" an "excuse to clamp down" on journalists.

Speaking in London at a conference on media freedom, Ms Clooney said the loss of press freedom was "not limited to non-democracies".

"What happens in a country like Australia, or the UK or the US will be looked at by every other leader in the world and potentially used as an excuse to clamp down even further on journalists," she said when asked about recent events in Australia.

"I think journalists all over the world are less safe if the rhetoric or even policies or laws in states that are supposed to be free, are actually a threat to journalists in those countries."

Ms Clooney said there were few places in the world where journalists were not put under surveillance, harassed, disenfranchised or subject to self-censorship.

"You may think these problems only affect people in far-off lands, but you would be wrong. These problems are global and they exist even in countries that otherwise have a tradition of free speech," she said.

Ms Clooney said "all governments say they believe in a free press — the right is even enshrined in North Korea's constitution — what matters is the enforcement of that right".

Foreign Minister Marise Payne also attended the conference, which was organised by the British and Canadian governments.

She said Australia "had been strong and clear in our support for the protection of journalists and the right to freedom of expression".

"We recognise a sensible balance needs to be reached between protecting our national interest in the face of ever-evolving security challenges and upholding the public's right to know," she added.

Facebook defamation ruling also cause for concern

Mr Anderson also raised concerns about a recent New South Wales Supreme Court ruling that media organisations were liable for defamatory comments made by members of the public on media outlets' Facebook pages.

Former Northern Territory youth detainee Dylan Voller brought a civil case against Fairfax Media, Nationwide News and Sky News over comments posted in reply to articles placed on the social media platform between July 2016 and June 2017.

The court ruled the media organisations could be considered publishers of the third-party comments and were therefore liable for them.

"A responsibility to pre-moderate or reactively hide comments on Facebook significantly raises the risks and costs of using social media to engage with audiences," Mr Anderson said.

"It also adds to the challenges of working within Australia's notoriously complex defamation law regime."

Mr Anderson said the ABC would follow any appeals processes closely.