PM&C has instigated an investigation into the circumstances around the disposal of two Commonwealth Government filing cabinets that allegedly contained classified material.

PM&C is working closely with the AFP and ASIO, and has been since the substantive release of Commonwealth documents by the ABC, around midday Wednesday 31 January 2018.

PM&C have been in discussion continuously with the ABC since this time.

Documents were secured in the early hours of this morning in Canberra and Brisbane, and this was the outcome of a cooperative arrangement between the ABC and the Australian Government – it was not a raid.

The documents remain the property of the Commonwealth of Australia.