Chinese national charged under foreign interference laws
The woman, a Chinese national and Australian permanent resident, faced the ACT Magistrates Court today accused of covertly gathering information about the Canberra branch of Buddhist association Guan Yin Citta.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) says it is the first time the laws have been used to lay charges relating to alleged community interference.
The AFP alleged the woman had been engaging in covert or deceptive conduct since 2022.
The group, which is attached to the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, has been outlawed in China, and its Australian leader was barred from entering China in 2017, but is free to practice in Australia.
The woman is also accused of having tasked associates to help her collect information on behalf of or in collaboration with China, or to support the intelligence activities of China.
Evidence provided by an AFP informant to the court alleged the woman had received money from Chinese-based financial institutions.
Police said they believed the woman had been receiving "personal taskings" from a Chinese public security bureau office through an encrypted app, which was allegedly found on the woman's phone during a raid of her premises last week.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.
The court heard the woman's husband, who was believed to be in China, held the role of vice captain in a public security ministry in a Chinese province.
The woman, who cannot be named due to a temporary court suppression order, has been charged with the Commonwealth offence of reckless foreign interference.
Her lawyer, James Maher, said naming the woman could make her a target for reprisal action and limit her pathways of cooperation with AFP authorities.
He also applied for the woman to be bailed, but that application was denied on grounds that the woman was a flight risk and may interfere with digital evidence and witnesses.
The Commonwealth, which opposed the application, claimed there was no evidence to support the risks the woman had claimed.
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