Perth lawyer and barrister Ari Jenshel left Vanuatu last week after he was told by the Australian government he could be arrested in relation to his conduct as an adviser to the Vanuatu Attorney-General. Jenshel has previously worked as a lawyer with the Australian Defence Force, and had been working in Vanuatu for the past five years as part of an AusAid project.

The Vanuatu Finance Minister has since requested that the actions of Jenshel be investigated, but the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has told the ABC that it does not plan to launch an investigation.

Jenshel has previously told The Australian that he "is not a spy and never been a crook".

Police in Vanuatu are investigating whether sensitive documents, some of which relate to other countries including Fiji, were copied and sent to the Australian government.