Australia news: Spy chief Mike Burgess slammed by China's foreign ministry for claims the country is conducting espionage in Australia

China's foreign ministry has rebuffed claims it has hackers working to disrupt Australia's critical infrastructure.

It comes after comments from Australia's top spy chief Mike Burgess, who yesterday identified two hacking groups which he said were capable of tapping into Australia's critical communications network and having a "disruptive [and] destructive" impact on the country.

He did not explicitly name the Chinese government, but said "one nation state — no prizes for guessing which one — [is] conducting multiple attempts to scan and penetrate critical infrastructure in Australia and other Five Eyes countries."

However, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry strongly denied Burgess' claims, asking for a full retraction and saying this was not the first time Burgess had