A senior official in the NSW Premier’s Department is behind bars facing dozens of charges after allegedly sharing violent child abuse material over a period spanning at least two years.
Cameron Spring, 43, is accused of uploading and sharing violent child abuse material to an online cloud storage service.
Among the charges are 13 counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material, eight counts of causing child abuse material to be transmitted to self using a carriage service, one count of grooming a person under 16 for sexual activity, and one count of larceny by persons in public service.
He was refused bail at Burwood Local Court on Friday and is due to face court again on April 8.
The investigation into his alleged offending came after investigators in the United States tipped off the Australian Federal Police about child abuse material being uploaded to social media platforms.
“This investigation sends a clear and unequivocal message: law enforcement will relentlessly pursue anyone alleged to be involved in the harm of children to find them and put them before the courts,” AFP Detective Superintendent Luke Needham said.
“Children are not commodities. They are not objects. They deserve safety, dignity and protection – and the AFP will not tolerate those who prey on them.”
A NSW government spokesperson confirmed Spring is a government employee but has been suspended without pay since being charged on February 12.
The charges came almost a year after Spring’s Canterbury home was raided on March 27, 2025, when investigators seized phones and laptops for forensic examination.
The government spokesperson did not respond to questions about when the department became aware of the investigation, but said it would be inappropriate to comment further while the matter is before the court.
Investigators are working to establish whether a government-issued work device was used in the alleged offending.
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Jack Gramenz is a breaking news reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
