The Australian federal police have inadvertently disclosed the identity of two people involved in a criminal investigation, the second accidental publication of material about investigations this year.



The identities of the two were disclosed in documents released by the AFP under freedom of information laws.

The AFP were investigating whether a person had made a false accusation of an offence. One of the two people referred to was the subject of the investigation; the other provided a statement in relation to it.

The AFP’s freedom of information department appeared to have failed to redact their identities.

A federal police spokeswoman said in a statement: “On 8 December, the AFP was made aware that information was inadvertently released in documents as part of an FoI request.

“The AFP will self-report this breach to the Australian privacy commissioner, advise the affected individuals of the error and take immediate steps to rectify this matter.”

It is the second time in recent months that the federal police have inadvertently published material about investigations.

In August Guardian Australia reported the AFP had mistaken mistakenly published highly sensitive information – including metadata – connected to criminal investigations.

Ben Fairless, who lodged the freedom of information request, said he had expressly asked the AFP not to disclose names of individuals who were not police officers.

“It is incredible that it took over 78 days (and an incorrect decision) and the AFP was still unable to redact material that was specifically exempt,” he said.

Guardian Australia has chosen not to disclose details of the documents that were redacted. The AFP were notified of the breach before publication.

The federal government and the AFP are pushing for a mandatory data retention scheme to access personal phone and web data. A bill before parliament will be the subject of an inquiry by the parliamentary intelligence committee in coming months.

The federal police strongly support a mandatory data retention scheme and warrantless access to metadata, arguing it is vital to their investigations.

Applicants to the AFP’s freedom of information unit have experience serious delays in processing times. An examination of a number of requests – including from Guardian Australia – has shown that many requests do not meet the 30-day statutory timeframe.

The federal police spokeswoman said: “The processing of FoI documents is done in accordance with the act.

“Under the act, this process can be delayed for various reasons, including consultation requirements with third parties. The extension of time provisions are in accordance with the FoI Act and by agreement with the applicant or granted by the office of the Australian information commissioner.”