Australia’s major media outlets have slammed an AFP proposal that would require journalists to hand over classified information without a search warrant.

Australia's Right to Know Coalition has appeared before a Senate inquiry to push its case for more legislative protections for journalists.

The coalition includes major players ABC, News Corp and Nine.

The group was responding to a submission by the Home Affairs Department and the AFP that called for the creation of a so-called “notice to produce” regime.

The government agencies want to be able to simply contact journalists and media organisations and demand they hand over information.

“This would offer an alternative to executing a search warrant in person, give parties more flexibility to serve and produce material … and provide an opportunity for professional journalists and media organisations to put forward any strong, countervailing arguments to not produce material pursuant to such an notice,” the submission said.

But the plan would also all the authorities to avoid media demands for the ability to contest search warrants before any raids on journalists are carried out.

Right to Know Coalition and ABC lawyer Connie Carnabuci said it is a flawed argument.

“Even in Hong Kong, which I've had cause to look at recently, they have contestable warrants and they have recognition in the basic law of journalistic privilege,” she said.

“And they've got a whole host of problems at the moment, but it's interesting for us to just put a pin in that, and note that.

“If such a 'notice to produce' regime was enshrined, it's a voluntary option.

“It's not a compulsory path, which means, like the sword of Damocles, the old warrant regime remains.”

News Corp's head of policy and government affairs, Georgia-Kate Schubert, described the idea as “hollow”.

“The proposal actually is quite bereft of detail, in relation to what it would apply to,” she said.

“The proposal makes note that there would be some contestability element to the 'notice to produce' scheme, but there was no detail around that.”

The Right to Know Coalition was asked why it would not settle for protections that require the media to alert authorities to sensitive information ahead of publication.

“The 'notice to produce' scheme that's proposed is for use by the AFP,” Ms Schubert responded.

“[It's] about asking for a media company or a journalist to voluntarily provide information that the AFP is seeking, not actually for journalists to go and say; ‘Can I please publish this story, on the basis I have this information’.

“Both of which seem a little farcical, to be honest.”