Australian High Court Dismisses David McBride's Final Appeal

High Court Ends McBride's Legal Challenge

Australia's highest judicial body, the High Court, has dismissed an application by former army lawyer David McBride to have his case heard, effectively ending his legal avenues for appeal. The decision, handed down on October 9, 2025, means McBride will continue to serve his sentence for leaking classified documents related to alleged war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

Background to the 'Afghan Files' Leak

David McBride, a former military lawyer, became known as a whistleblower after providing classified documents to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). These documents formed the basis of the 2017 investigative series, 'The Afghan Files', which detailed allegations of unlawful killings and other misconduct by Australian special forces troops in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

McBride collected hundreds of military documents, with 207 classified as secret, between 2014 and 2015. He argued that his actions were in the public interest and that his oath as a military officer compelled him to expose wrongdoing.

Conviction, Sentencing, and Appeals

McBride was arrested in 2018 and subsequently charged with several offences, including theft of Commonwealth property and unlawfully disclosing Commonwealth documents. He pleaded guilty in November 2023 after a court ruled against his ability to argue an 'official duty' defence based on public interest.

On May 14, 2024, the ACT Supreme Court sentenced McBride to an aggregated term of five years and eight months in prison, with a non-parole period of two years and three months. Justice David Mossop stated that while McBride was of 'good character', his actions were a 'gross breach of trust' and driven by 'misguided self-belief'.

McBride's legal team appealed the conviction and sentence to the ACT Court of Appeal, arguing the severity of the sentence and challenging the rejection of his public interest defence. However, on May 28, 2025, the three judges of the ACT Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed his appeal, reiterating that his oath obliged him to discharge his duties 'according to the law'.

High Court's Refusal and Broader Implications

Following the dismissal by the ACT Court of Appeal, McBride's lawyers sought special leave to appeal to the High Court, contending that the case raised significant public interest and constitutional issues, particularly concerning the role of whistleblowers. They argued that there must be circumstances where a soldier can, and indeed must, disobey orders if those orders violate fundamental principles of law, drawing parallels to the Nuremberg principles.

The High Court's decision to dismiss the application means that the previous rulings stand, and McBride's imprisonment will continue. Human rights advocates have voiced concerns that this outcome could have a 'chilling effect' on potential whistleblowers in Australia, arguing that the first person imprisoned in relation to Australian war crimes is the whistleblower, not a perpetrator.