Australia is moving to introduce a sweeping new law that could criminalise extremist groups, including the Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, amid heightened concerns about radicalisation following the Bondi Beach attack. The 144-page legislation, published on Tuesday, would allow authorities to ban groups promoting hate crimes and impose jail sentences of up to 15 years for leaders who continue underground operations.
Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Australian branch immediately responded with defiance. In a statement on its website, the group criticised the proposed legislation, arguing that “radical” Islam had been unfairly blamed for the Bondi massacre, allegedly carried out by two men displaying the ISIS flag on their vehicle.
“Charges of hate and calls to social cohesion are calls to shield Zionist crimes from rightful scrutiny and protect them and their complicitors from rightful prosecution,” the statement read. “It is a call that only serves to protect the criminal and punish its victims and their supporters, a call all people of conscience must comprehensively reject.”
The law introduces a new racial vilification offence, which would make serious antisemitic speech punishable by up to two years in prison. The legislation defines prohibited behaviour as promoting hatred based on race, ethnicity, or national origin, including Israelis, and also covers claims of racial superiority—a section aimed primarily at neo-Nazi groups. Prosecutors would only need to prove that the offender knew they were promoting racial hatred, rather than show that anyone was directly influenced. Legal experts say this could make prosecutions against tight-knit extremist organisations, both Islamist and neo-Nazi, more feasible.
Under the new law, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke would have the authority to ban groups that advocate or participate in hate crimes. The minister would act only on advice from the Director-General of Security—currently ASIO head Mike Burgess—and with approval from the Attorney-General. Burke confirmed on Monday that Hizb ut-Tahrir and the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network, which also operates under the name White Australia, would be the first targets.
Although Hizb ut-Tahrir has long called for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state, it has generally avoided explicitly advocating violence against Israelis or Jews. This approach has previously kept the group largely outside the reach of Australian law.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese linked the proposed legislation directly to the Bondi Beach attack. “The terrorists at Bondi Beach had hatred in their minds, but guns in their hands,” he said Tuesday. “And this bill will get rid of both of those issues.”
Jewish organisations, including the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), have long argued that existing laws fail to prevent radical Islamists from promoting anti-Jewish sentiment. The ECAJ welcomed the new racial vilification offence but urged it to be strengthened to include the citation of religious texts, noting that the Quran contains passages that critics say can justify modern antisemitism, even as it also advocates tolerance.
“The new laws should be passed and strengthened so that the scourge of antisemitism, hate, and extremism in our society can be effectively neutralised,” said Peter Wertheim, co-chief executive of ECAJ.
Some controversy surrounds the exemption of religious texts from the legislation. Albanese told reporters that the Old Testament, for instance, contains passages endorsing slavery and mass killings, highlighting the difficulty of legislating against religiously based speech without unintended consequences.
Currently, racial vilification is prohibited under the Federal Racial Discrimination Act, but it is treated as a civil, rather than criminal, offence. States such as Western Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales have criminalised racial vilification, though prosecutions remain rare. The federal legislation would shift the burden of proof in some cases and create criminal penalties for public statements, a move that legal experts anticipate could face challenges in the High Court.
Constitutional lawyer Ron Levy of the Australian National University said the law is likely to withstand judicial scrutiny. “It seems they are making a good-faith effort to balance competing rights and priorities, particularly under extreme circumstances where security agencies need to act swiftly,” Levy said.
Independent MP Allegra Spender, who represents Bondi and surrounding areas, is pushing to extend protections under the law to cover religion and sexuality. “Neo-Nazis target Jews, but they also target Muslims and the LGBTQ+ community,” she said. Adding religious vilification protections would cover Muslim Australians, though it raises questions about whether the law would extend beyond its stated aim of combating antisemitism.
While the Opposition has expressed concerns about the bill’s structure, it has indicated support for passing the legislation next Tuesday, making its passage highly likely. Nationals leader David Littleproud criticised elements of the law, suggesting it unfairly affects recreational shooters. “We don’t have a gun problem,” he said. “We have an extreme Islamic problem.”
The proposed law marks Australia’s most significant attempt in decades to confront organised extremism and hate speech. If enacted, it could reshape the legal landscape for extremist groups, providing law enforcement and security agencies with new tools to act preemptively while sparking debates about freedom of speech, religious expression, and civil liberties.
