HomeReportsBureau of CounterterrorismCountry Reports on Terrorism 2022…Australia

# 					Country Reports on Terrorism 2022: Australia			

Bureau of Counterterrorism

 In this section										

                -  Australia 

## Australia

**Overview:**  In 2022, Australia introduced legislation to strengthen counterterrorism laws, investigated and disrupted suspected terrorist plots, and maintained high levels of cooperation with the United States and other international partners.  The Counterterrorism Coordination Center within the Department of Home Affairs is responsible for policy development; whole-of-government coordination, including the use of CT laws relating to citizenship cessation; listing of terrorist organizations; and treatment of high-risk terrorism offenders.  In March, Australia also released its Counterterrorism Strategy 2022, *Safeguarding Our Community Together,* which aims to safeguard Australia from terrorism and violent extremism.

In 2022 the Australian federal budget included AUS$86.7 million ($56.4 million) to support this strategy and protect communities from high-risk terrorists currently serving custodial sentences.  The Australian government in March also listed Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organization for the purposes of the Criminal Code Act 1995.  Previously, Australia’s listing was restricted to the Hamas paramilitary wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.  In April the government also listed Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization.  On November 28 the Australian Security and Intelligence Organization lowered the national terrorism threat level from “probable” to “possible” for the first time since 2014, the second-highest level on a five-level scale.  The downgrade reflected a domestic assessment and was not reflective of the offshore threat to Australian interests.

**2022 Terrorist Incidents:**  On December 12 an attack by three alleged fundamentalist Christian extremists killed two police officers and a civilian in Wieambilla, Queensland.  The three extremists were killed by responding police.  The Queensland police deputy commissioner stated it was a religiously motivated terrorist attack.

**Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:**  In September the Australian Parliament introduced the Anti-Money Laundering and Counterterrorism Financing Amendment (Making Gambling Businesses Accountable) Bill 2022, which would require gambling companies to report if they have reason to believe illegal money was used in gambling.  It also would enable the Federal Court to make compensation orders where gambling companies have provided gambling services to a person it suspects has paid for the gambling service with money obtained illegally.  In October, Parliament passed the Counterterrorism Legislation Amendment (Australia Federal Police Powers and Other Matters) Bill 2022, which extends for 12 months the sunsetting dates for stop-search-and-seizure powers, control orders, and preventive detention orders.  In October, Australia repatriated four women and 13 children from detention camps in Syria that were family members of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs).  At least 50 Australians, including an estimated 30 children, remain in the camps.

Significant law enforcement actions and judicial determinations in 2022 included the following:

- In February a man was charged with six terrorism-related offenses, including engaging in an act of terrorism with the maximum penalty of life imprisonment following an investigation by the New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team.  The man fired at several passing vehicles and pedestrians.
- In April a convicted terrorist was sentenced to a maximum of two years and three months in prison for breaching conditions of a control order.

- In August, former academic Abdussalam Adina-Zada was convicted of inciting terrorism abroad and sentenced to 42 months in prison.
- In December, accused ISIS jihadist Neil Prakash was extradited from Türkiye to Victoria state and charged with six terrorism offenses with the maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

**Countering the Financing of Terrorism:**  Australia is a member of FATF and the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering.  Its FIU, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, is a member of the Egmont Group. In November the Australian government reviewed and relisted 27 persons and 36 entities for counterterrorism sanctions until 2025.

**Countering Violent Extremism:**  The Department of Home Affairs coordinates a comprehensive national approach to preventing and countering violent extremism — whether politically, religiously, or racially motivated — as a shared effort involving federal, state, and territorial government agencies.  The program’s stated objectives are to combat the threat posed by homegrown terrorism and to discourage Australians from traveling overseas to participate in conflicts.  The government’s approach comprises four complementary streams of activity:  1) building strength in diversity and social participation, 2) targeted work with vulnerable communities and institutions, 3) addressing terrorist propaganda online, and 4) diversion and deradicalization.  In February, Australia designated the National Socialist Order, formerly known as Atomwaffen Division, as a terrorist group — making it a criminal offense in Australia to be a member.

**International and Regional Cooperation:**  Australia continued to play an active role in the Global Counterterrorism Forum and was a leading contributor of military support, humanitarian assistance, and efforts to disrupt FTFs.  The nation is a financial supporter and board member of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund and a member of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.  Australia currently co-chairs the GCTF CVE Working Group with Indonesia.  Established in 2012, the Australia-New Zealand Counterterrorism Committee functions as a high-level body.  It consists of representatives from the two countries’ federal, state, and territorial governments.

In 2022 the Office of the Counterterrorism Ambassador, within Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, led Australia’s whole-of-government international counterterrorism engagement effort.  The prime objective of this effort was to strengthen and deepen international and regional cooperation and build partnerships to counter the threat of terrorism and violent extremism.  Through International Counterterrorism Engagement Program grants, Australia funded programs in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to build whole-of-society capacity and capability to counter terrorism and violent extremism.  Australia hosted the Likeminded Senior Officials’ Meeting in Sydney for representatives from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, the EU, the United Kingdom, and the United States in October and hosted in Sydney (with the United States, India, and Japan) the third Quad Counterterrorism Tabletop Exercise the same month.  Australia continues to engage with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) partners and in ASEAN-related fora on counterterrorism and law enforcement cooperation, including technical and regulatory assistance to develop and implement counterterrorism legislation.  The Australian Federal Police works with policing agencies in Southeast Asia.

## View report by:

### On This Page

                    -  Australia 

Tags

AustraliaBureau of CounterterrorismBureau of East Asian and Pacific AffairsCountering TerrorismCountering Violent ExtremismCounterterrorismTerrorism

Back to Top

                - White House
                - USA.gov
                - Office of the Inspector General
                - Archives
                - Contact Us

follow us
FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTubeFlickrGovDelivery

              - Privacy Policy
              - Accessibility Statement
              - Copyright Information
              - FOIA
              - No FEAR Act

## U.S. Department *of* State

#### The Lessons of 1989: Freedom and Our Future