One of Australia's top criminal barristers says it is "reasonably clear" that federal Human Services Minister Alan Tudge or someone in his office committed an offence punishable by up to two years in prison by revealing personal details of a Centrelink client.

Melbourne QC Robert Richter believes Mr Tudge or one of his staff members broke social security law by releasing tax and relationship information about writer Andie Fox after she wrote an article critical of Centrelink's debt collection program.

​The federal opposition commissioned Mr Richter to provide it with the legal advice after the personal information was published in a subsequent media article.

Mr Tudge says the disclosure was authorised because it was aimed at correcting the record over "false assertions" in Ms Fox's article. He says he was given written legal advice from his department's top lawyer that the disclosure was legal.