Australian journalist Cheng Lei freed from three 'very difficult few years' of detention in China

In a significant breakthrough for Australia-China relations, the Prime Minister made the surprise announcement late on Wednesday that she had been freed and reunited with her family in Australia after three years of detention.

Pictures, released by the government, show Ms Lei smiling with Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Melbourne. She has shorten hair and can be seen on the phone.

Ms Cheng was working for a Chinese state-owned media outlet CGTN in 2020 when she was arrested on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas.

Unleashing a tightly held diplomatic secret, Mr Albanese said the government had been seeking her release since 2020 and her release follows the "completion of legal processes in China."

He has spoken to her and said she is delighted to be in Melbourne.

"Earlier today, I was able to have a conversation with an Australian citizen Cheng Lei who has arrived safely here in Melbourne and has been reunited with her two children and her family," he told reporters in Melbourne.

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"She was met at the airport by the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong. Her return brings an end to a very difficult few years for Ms Cheng and her family.

"This is an outcome the Australian government has been seeking for a long period of time and her return will be warmly welcomed not just by her family and friends but by all Australians."

The Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has welcomed the development.

"I'm just delighted and all credit to the government. I'm so happy for Cheng Lei," she told the ABC.

"I still remember the letter she wrote from the cell where she only got that tiny bit of sunlight every day. I still remember how she talks about missing her children. And I'm just so thrilled. So yes, all credit."

Mr Albanese has urged the media to respect Ms Lei's privacy.

The Prime Minister is expected to travel to China soon.