Sydney, 12 July 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Two Australian nationals accused of spying for Russia have been arrested in Australia, federal police said on Friday.

The Russian-born married couple, aged 40 and 62, are accused of "obtaining Australian Defence Force material" with the intention of leaking it to Russian authorities, Australian police said in a statement.

The 40-year-old woman is an Army Private in the Australian army, according to the police.

The couple was arrested in their house in a Brisbane suburb on Thursday, police said.

They have been charged with "one count each of preparing for an espionage offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment," according to the statement.

The woman is said to have secretly travelled to Russia while on leave from the army, from where she instructed her husband "on how to log into her official work account, and guided him to access specific information to send directly to her private email account while she was in Russia."

Police said "the woman's ADF account credentials were used on a number of occasions to access sensitive ADF information, with the intent to provide it to Russian authorities."

Whether any sensitive data had reached Russian authorities was still being investigated, it said.

Photo: EPA