The Sydney student who leaked information about a fashion school scholarship controversially awarded to the daughter of Prime Minister Tony Abbott sincerely believed she was acting in the public interest and was unaware she was breaking the law.
Freya Rachael Sommerville Newman, 21, used her position as a part-time librarian at the Whitehouse Institute of Design to obtain information about the $60,000 director's scholarship awarded to Frances Abbott in 2011.
Ms Newman pleaded guilty last month to accessing restricted data. The offence carried a maximum penalty of two years' jail.
At a sentencing hearing in the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday, Ms Newman's barrister, Tony Payne, SC, asked magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan to place the university student on a bond and not record a conviction due to the "significant extra-curial punishment" she had suffered since becoming a whistleblower.
He said she was experiencing anxiety due to the high level of media coverage her case had generated and a psychiatric report was tendered in support of this, although Ms O'Sullivan agreed to suppress sensitive parts of it.
"A sense of injustice motivated Ms Newman, not greed or a desire for notoriety or to embarrass Ms Abbott," Mr Payne said.
"She was not aware that her actions were against the law or that her identity would become known."
Mr Payne said Ms Newman had heard some senior Whitehouse staff members talk about the Managing Director's Scholarship Ms Abbott had been awarded by the institute's founder Leanne Whitehouse in February 2011. At the time, Mr Abbott was the leader of the opposition.
It was with their "knowledge and encouragement" that Ms Newman used the user name and password of another staff member at the institute to access its student record system, without the staff member's knowledge.
A police facts sheet alleged Ms Newman then took screen shots of the information from the system and emailed two other institute employees, saying: " ... there's a bit about Frances meeting with Leanne J, the CEO of Whitehouse Institute on February 21, 2011 and then receiving a Managing Director's Scholarship three days later."
Soon after, she sent another email saying: "Got 'em – might go meet Chris now to talk tactics, see you tomorrow."
The police said this was a reference to Chris Graham, the editor and publisher of the New Matilda website, which published an article about Ms Abbott's scholarship the following day.
Ms Newman, a student at the University of Technology, Sydney, resigned from Whitehouse straight away.
Mr Payne said Ms Newman acknowledged accessing the database was a breach of her employer's trust, but "no significant harm" had befallen Ms Abbott as a result. Further, Ms Newman had sent a letter to Ms Abbott apologising for any distress.
He said Ms Newman was a "vulnerable young woman" who had inadvertently gained a reputation as a whistleblower, which would affect her education and employment prospects for years. A conviction would also restrict her ability to travel to some countries.
Because Whitehouse was a private school and not a public institution, Ms Newman was not protected under whistleblower legislation.
The Whitehouse Institute denied providing Ms Abbott with any special treatment.
Police opposed a bond and submitted that a conviction should be recorded.
Dozens of supporters, some bearing placards saying "Free Freya" and "Protect Whistleblowers", turned up at court, although Mr Payne said his client had taken no part in any of the campaigns that had sprung up in response to her case.
Ms Newman, who was accompanied by her parents, will be sentenced on November 25.
