Jared Henry Purcell: Ex-soldier turned Australian Border Force sentenced for unauthorised access of material

A former soldier turned podcaster lied on his Border Force job application, then once employed caused unauthorised access to restricted material. Read what happened here.

Former soldier Jared Henry Purcell was sentenced over two counts of providing false or misleading information and one count of cause known unauthorised access to restricted data held in Commonwealth computer. Picture: Facebook

An ex-Australian soldier turned podcaster omitted information on his Border Force application, then while on the job caused unauthorised access to restricted material, a court has heard.

Jared Henry Purcell, 37, pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts of providing false or misleading information and one count of cause known unauthorised access to restricted data held in Commonwealth computer on behalf of the Commonwealth by means of carriage service.

The Southport Magistrates Court heard Purcell signed a completed employment suitability questionnaire as part of an Australian Border Force (ABF) recruitment process on July 31, 2020 and submitted it with a declaration the contents were true and accurate to the Department of Home Affairs on August 1, 2020.

In the documents, Purcell had to disclose if he ever socialised with anyone he believed or suspected to be involved in criminal or illegal activities, or was known to police and law enforcement, the court heard.

Purcell failed to declare in the documents his relationship with three persons previously convicted of serious criminal offences who he had visited on 13 occasions in five different Queensland correctional facilities between 2005 and 2018.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott (left) with former soldier Jared Henry Purcell who has been sentence at the Southport Magistrates Court. Picture: Instagram

He was later employed in the ABF officer recruit training program in October 2020 as a result of the information he provided in the documents.

While employed by the ABF, Purcell caused access to ABF systems on 11 occasions between February 4, 2021 and July 23, 2021 where he searched himself and five others including two fellow ABF recruits.

The court heard Purcell knew he was not authorised to use these systems and when accessing the network, there were messages about it being protected information.

Purcell was employed by the ABF for two years before he ler in part due to stress caused by family court matters.

The magistrates court heard the offending was only disclosed due to an anonymous report to the commissioner.

Prosecutor Renee Spicer told the court general deterrence was significant in this matter because of the high levels of trust placed in ABF employees.

“These offences were easy to commit, difficult to detect and costly to investigate,” she said.

Jared Henry Purcell (right) with special forces combat veteran and public speaker Heston Russell. Picture: Instagram

In relation to the providing false or misleading information charges, Purcell’s defence barrister Sam Hill said Department of Home Affairs policies indicated a person’s criminal history did not automatically disqualify them from being able to take employment.

“It would follow that an association with someone who has a prior criminal history would not automatically disqualify them from taking employment,” he said.

He noted the people Purcell visited were not actively offending and their criminal behaviour happened in the past.

In relation to Purcell’s unauthorised access charge, Mr Hill said Purcell obtained information whether there were records related to the names he searched in the system but he did not access what those records related to.

The court heard Purcell served four years with the Australian Defence Force deployed to Afghanistan and East Timor before he medically retired with multiple medals for his service.

Mr Hill told the court Purcell has worked in security before and after his time in the military, including a body guard role at the Australian Embassy in Afghanistan.

He is based in Melbourne, still working in the security industry, and hosts ‘The Broken Fathers Podcast’ which aims to expose flaws in the Family Court system.

Magistrate Louisa Pink said she accepted Purcell’s guilty pleas and he had good prospects of rehabilitation.

Ms Pink said she was told Purcell conducted the searches in the ABF system out of curiosity.

He was sentenced to a good behaviour bond for nine months and given a $1500 recognisance. A conviction was recorded.