A dedicated national centre for detecting and disrupting online terrorism and violent extremism will be established, as harrowing new evidence is unearthed during the second day of the Royal Commission on anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion.
The Albanese government on Tuesday announced it would spend $74m over two years to establish the Counter Terrorism Online Centre, which will be jointly led by ASIO and the AFP.
The centre will work in partnership with local and international law enforcement to target online terrorists, especially anyone seeking to manipulate vulnerable young people, the government said.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said more young Australians were being radicalised online.
“And, it happens fast,” he said.
“We already have centres dedicated to protecting children and combating cybercrime; establishing a centre for online violence extremism and terrorism is the next logical step in a fast-moving threat environment.”
Mr Burke said the new centre extended the monitoring abilities of personnel “to the chat room”.
“A bolstered online threat capability will give AFP and ASIO the resources they need to target terrorists and violent extremists online,” he said.
Funding for the centre is part of an $80m package over 2026-27 to enhance online counter-terrorism capabilities and to prevent violent extremism and youth radicalisation.
The government warned violent extremists were increasingly being radicalised online, including through video game platforms and private chatrooms.
In the past two years, 27 young people have been charged with violent extremist material offences, of which 15 were aged 17 years or younger.
It comes as members of Australia’s Jewish community share harrowing evidence before the Royal Commission, established in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Joshua Gomperts, a St John Ambulance volunteer, told the inquiry a firefighter pulled out a large hunting knife and told him “I would skin you the way my family skinned yours in the camps” during a New Year’s Eve event in 2011.
