Australia lists online extremist network as terror organisation

Hans India

2 days ago

Canberra: The Australian government on Friday listed Terrorgram - an online nationalist extremist network - as a terrorist organisation, emphasising that the listing is aligned with similar actions already undertaken by the United Kingdom and the United States against the same platform.
"This group fosters and promotes an ideology that would seek to make some Australians feel unwelcome in their home, it is this extremist hatred which is not welcome and has no place in Australia," said Australia's Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, Tony Burke.
"This listing will give Australian police and security and intelligence agencies significantly more power to keep Australians safe and restrict the operation of extremists in our country. Online radicalisation is a growing threat but the government has tools at its disposal and we will use every one of them to keep Australians safe," he added.
The Australian government's decision to list Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code Act 1995 was taken after consultation with national security and intelligence agencies.
"Terrorgram is a nationalist and racist violent extremist organisation operating on decentralised and encrypted platforms, primarily Telegram. Terrorgram users create and distribute propaganda to inspire terrorist attacks on minority groups, critical infrastructure and specific individuals. Terrorgram advocates for and provides instructions on how to conduct a terrorist attack, and has successfully inspired terrorist attacks in the United States, Europe and Asia," the government detailed.
The listing of Terrorgram under the Criminal Code complements the counter-terrorism financing sanctions already imposed on Terrorgram in February 2025 by the Minister for Foreign Affairs under section 15 of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945.
"By listing Terrorgram, the Australian Government is acting to keep Australians safe from terrorism and violent extremism. The Australian Government will continue to use all the tools available to prevent the rise of violent extremism, to confront racially motivated violence and to counter hate in all its forms.
"Listing an organisation is an important deterrent for, and response to, terrorist activity. Under Division 102 of the Criminal Code it is an offence to be a member of, associate with members of, recruit for, train with, get funds to, from or for, or provide support to, a terrorist organisation. These offences are punishable by harsh penalties up to 25 years imprisonment," the government stated.
Urging Australians to provide valuable information to assist security and law enforcement agencies identify potential threats and prevent them from developing, the Australian government said that it continues to work closely with international partners to combat terrorism and violent extremism globally.