Overview

• Prosecutors told the Adelaide District Court that Boyle’s privacy breaches warranted recorded convictions to provide general deterrence, even if the prison term were suspended.
• Defence counsel highlighted Boyle’s moral courage, public-interest disclosures on ABC Four Corners and resulting ATO reform as reasons to avoid recording convictions.
• Boyle pleaded guilty in May to four charges, including disclosing and making records of protected information and unlawfully recording private conversations.
• His case spotlights gaps in Australia’s Public Interest Disclosure Act, which lacks clear immunity for preparatory acts like collecting evidence for disclosures.
• Judge Liesl Kudelka will issue her decision on convictions ahead of Boyle’s formal sentencing on August 28.