An Australian Federal Police (AFP) internal document obtained by BuzzFeed News reveals that the agency believes that investigating the "liking" of a porn tweet by the Twitter account of health minister Greg Hunt is an "essential" priority.
But the AFP has not dedicated any funding to the investigation.
In early December, Hunt's Twitter account liked a porn tweet, but Hunt said it wasn't done by him or his staff.
"This was clearly a hack and has therefore been referred to the AFP," a Hunt spokeswoman told The Daily Telegraph.
The AFP commenced an investigation in late December, and under Freedom of Information law, BuzzFeed News sought a copy of the case categorisation and prioritisation model (CCPM) log that outlines what priority the case has been given, and how much funding has been allocated to the case
The two case incident types assigned were for an Australian office holder, because Hunt is a minister, and telecommunications and postal, because it happened on a carriage service, i.e. Twitter, which falls under telecommunications.
From two to five AFP officers have been assigned to the case, and it has been classified as an "essential" priority. This is above a "routine" priority and according to the AFP "must be acted upon due to key policy, organisation accountability, strategic, legal or other issues".
The guide suggests the matters should be acted upon within one week. The CCPM suggests this investigation would take from one to three months. The investigation has been running for three months.
The case has also been ranked as of "high value" to the AFP. The guide states this means it could require considerable investigative skill, or relate to a strategic target involved with other activity of interest to the AFP.
An AFP spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the investigation had not been finalised, and that the AFP could provide no further comment until that happens.