# Islamism in Australia: attacks, ASIO and the law > Islamism in Australia: the Bondi attack, ASIO's PROBABLE threat level, 31 listed terrorist groups, the Hizb ut-Tahrir ban and what cuts the other way. - URL: https://fightingislamists.com/islamism-australia.html - Updated: 13 October 2026 - Publisher: The Analyst, Fighting Islamists (https://fightingislamists.com/) - Cite as: The Analyst, "Islamism in Australia: attacks, ASIO and the law", Fighting Islamists, updated 13 October 2026. https://fightingislamists.com/islamism-australia.html **The short answer.** Islamism in Australia is a small but serious security problem, not a mass movement. ASIO has rated the national terrorism threat PROBABLE since August 2024, and on 14 December 2025 two gunmen killed 15 people at a Hanukkah festival on Bondi Beach; the Prime Minister said the evidence suggested Islamic State had inspired it.[^asiotl][^rc][^abcus] ASIO now warns that the threat comes from several ideologies and from young people radicalised alone online, and Australia had 813,392 Muslims (3.2%) at the 2021 census.[^asio26][^abs] ### Key facts - On 24 June 2026 ASIO's Director-General, Mike Burgess, said the threat level remained PROBABLE: a better than even chance of an onshore attack or attack planning within 12 months. ASIO raised it from POSSIBLE on 5 August 2024.[^asio26][^asiotl] - ASIO said on 24 June 2026 that it had foiled 31 major terrorism plots since 2014. In September 2026 Burgess gave the figure as 33 and said 16 further threats had been disrupted since Bondi.[^asio26][^nightly] - The Royal Commission's interim report of 30 April 2026 recorded 15 killed and about 40 wounded at Bondi. The surviving accused, Naveed Akram, faced terrorism and murder charges and had not pleaded.[^rc] - Australia lists 31 terrorist organisations. By my count 26 are Islamist or jihadist, four are far-right networks and one is the Kurdish PKK.[^nsglist] - On 5 March 2026 Hizb ut-Tahrir became the first group listed as a "prohibited hate group". A parliamentary committee found the listing properly made in May 2026.[^nsght][^pjcis] - The 2021 census counted 813,392 Muslims, 3.2% of Australians.[^abs] ## How serious is Islamism in Australia? ASIO treats Islamist terrorism as a real and continuing threat, but as one threat among several. PROBABLE is the middle of five levels. It means ASIO assesses a better than even chance of an attack or attack planning within a year, not that it holds intelligence of a specific plot.[^asiotl] The next level, EXPECTED, needs such intelligence, and Burgess said ASIO had none. He added that "PROBABLE does not tell the full story", because the environment was worsening.[^asio26] Burgess described a changed threat in June 2026. People are radicalised alone, online, in weeks and often as minors, and they choose low-capability attacks with little warning. In one ordinary week ASIO handled more than 40 priority cases, among them a 17-year-old with a bomb-making manual who wanted to attack for Islamic State, a 20-year-old with a racist nationalist plan and a 15-year-old who wanted to blow up a school.[^asio26] In September he said Sunni violent extremism was still the majority of the caseload, and that al-Qaeda and [Islamic State](https://fightingislamists.com/islamic-state.html) were rebuilding their ability to inspire attacks.[^nightly] In June he had called it too simple to assume a single threat.[^asio26] ## What Islamist attacks have happened in Australia? Seven attacks since 2014 were treated as terrorism with a jihadist or religious-extremist link, and 20 victims died, 15 of them at Bondi (attackers not counted).[^vic] | Date | Place | Victims killed | What the record says | |---|---|---|---| | 23 Sep 2014 | Endeavour Hills, Melbourne | 0 | A man whose passport was seized over plans to join Islamic State stabbed two police officers and was shot dead[^john] | | 15 Dec 2014 | Lindt Café, Sydney | 2 | Man Monis, who identified as an Islamic State operative, took hostages; two hostages and Monis died[^rc] | | 2 Oct 2015 | Parramatta | 1 | Curtis Cheng was killed by a 15-year-old Islamic State supporter, who was shot dead[^john] | | 5 Jun 2017 | Brighton, Melbourne | 1 | Khayre, on parole, killed a man and held a woman hostage; police shot him dead[^john] | | 9 Nov 2018 | Bourke Street, Melbourne | 1 | Sisto Malaspina, 74, was stabbed; the attacker's passport was cancelled in 2015 over Islamic State images on his phone[^cor] | | 15 Apr 2024 | Wakeley, Sydney | 0 | A 16-year-old stabbed a bishop and was charged with committing a terrorist act[^aj] | | 14 Dec 2025 | Bondi Beach, Sydney | 15 | See the next section[^rc] | The table leaves out the Brisbane killings of December 2020. A man on bail over an alleged plan to fight in Syria killed an elderly couple, and the coroner said in May 2025 that it would never be known exactly why.[^abdi] Many plots failed. Victoria Police's timeline lists dozens since 2005, including a 2017 plan by four men, helped from overseas, to bring down an aircraft with a bomb. It also lists right-wing plots, one aimed at mosques.[^vic] Several cases centre on Sydney's south-west. After Wakeley, raids on 13 addresses in April 2024 led to seven teenage arrests; police said they would allege a religiously motivated violent extremist ideology.[^afp][^aj] Many Muslim Australians live in that area, so case numbers there prove little on their own. ## What do we know about the Bondi attack? On 14 December 2025 two men opened fire on the Chanukah by the Sea festival on Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and wounding about 40; the Royal Commission says Sydney's Jewish community was the evident target.[^rc] Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police. His son Naveed, 24, was wounded and charged.[^abcus] Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the evidence suggested the attack was inspired by Islamic State. The NSW Police Commissioner said a car registered to Naveed held explosive devices and Islamic State flags.[^abcus] The father held a licence for six firearms and was not an Australian citizen.[^rc] No court has ruled on motive, and the Royal Commission has said it will not make findings on the shooters' motivation while the case is pending.[^rc] ASIO examined the Akrams in 2019 over links to an Islamic State cell and concluded they posed no terrorism threat. After the threat level rose in 2024, ASIO reviewed only the previous 12 months of cases and did not look at them again; Burgess called that a resourcing judgement, and the former ASIO chief Dennis Richardson has questioned the 2019 assessment, ABC reported.[^abc0525] ASIO's holiday assessment of 2 December warned that festivals such as Hanukkah could be targeted but did not single it out, and four officers were assigned to monitor the event periodically.[^abc0523] ## Which terrorist groups are banned in Australia? Australia lists 31 terrorist organisations, and by my count 26 are Islamist or jihadist.[^nsglist] They include Islamic State and six provinces, al-Qaeda and three affiliates, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, [Hamas](https://fightingislamists.com/hamas.html), Hizballah and the Houthis. Four are far-right networks and one is the Kurdish PKK. Neither the Taliban nor the Muslim Brotherhood is on the list. | Legal tool | Example | Date of effect | |---|---|---| | Terrorist organisation | Islamic State | 11 July 2014[^nsglist] | | Terrorist organisation | Hizballah, whole organisation | 10 December 2021 | | Terrorist organisation | Hamas, whole organisation | 4 March 2022 | | Terrorist organisation | Terrorgram (far-right) | 27 June 2025 | | State sponsor of terrorism | Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps | 27 November 2025[^irgc] | | Prohibited hate group | Hizb ut-Tahrir | 6 March 2026[^nsghate] | | Prohibited hate group | White Australia (far-right, formerly the National Socialist Network) | 16 May 2026 | Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is a state force, so it sits in its own category. The government listed it after ASIO assessed that it had orchestrated attacks on a Sydney restaurant in October 2024 and a Melbourne synagogue in December 2024.[^irgc] See [Hezbollah and Iran](https://fightingislamists.com/hezbollah-iran.html). ## What is Hizb ut-Tahrir and why was it banned in Australia? Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Islamist movement that wants a single [caliphate](https://fightingislamists.com/caliphate.html) governed by sharia, and Australia banned it as a prohibited hate group on 5 March 2026.[^nsght][^pjcis] The stated reason was that it had repeatedly praised attacks that would be hate crimes if committed in Australia, including Hamas's attack of 7 October 2023 and other attacks on Jews.[^pjcis] At least 13 countries ban or designate it, the committee noted.[^pjcis] It is not a terrorism listing. The power came from the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Act, which Parliament passed on 20 January 2026. Joining a listed group, recruiting for it, funding it or supporting it is now a crime.[^nsghate][^burke] The Director-General of Security must first recommend a listing, the Attorney-General must agree in writing and the Opposition leader must be briefed. No public statement of reasons was issued, and the committee saw one in confidence.[^pjcis] The ban is contested. Former Australian members told the committee that none of them had been convicted of a terrorism or hate offence and that the regime punishes ideology, not conduct. The Muslim Legal Network and three other groups warned that a minister can now criminalise a group by designation, with no independent review. Jewish community bodies and the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism backed it. The committee found the listing properly made and said conviction is not the legal test.[^pjcis] ## What did Australia change after Bondi? The 2026 Act raises penalties for existing hate offences, creates aggravated offences for religious leaders who advocate or threaten violence and for adults who encourage children to commit it, and lets the minister refuse or cancel visas for hate-motivated conduct.[^agact] The government says it does not criminalise non-violent opinion or fair criticism of foreign governments.[^agact] The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, chaired by Virginia Bell, published its interim report on 30 April 2026. It made 14 recommendations, five of them confidential, including a national firearms agreement and a national gun buyback.[^rc] It found no legal gap that stopped any agency acting. How well they performed is for later hearings, and the final report is due by 14 December 2026.[^rc] ## Is the Muslim Brotherhood active in Australia? The Muslim Brotherhood is on neither of Australia's lists, and ASIO's 2026 threat assessment does not mention it.[^nsglist][^nsghate][^asio26] I found no Australian government assessment of it, so claims about Brotherhood networks here rest on foreign reports. Hamas, which began as its Palestinian branch, is listed in full. See the [Muslim Brotherhood guide](https://fightingislamists.com/muslim-brotherhood.html) for other countries. ## Does sharia law apply in Australia? No. Australia has one legal system, and sharia has no standing in it as law. The Marriage Act 1961 sets the rules for everyone: a legal marriage needs an authorised celebrant, and the minimum age is 18 unless a court approves a marriage involving a 16- or 17-year-old.[^ag] A religious ceremony without one does not meet that test. Campaigners say women in unregistered religious marriages can lack legal protection, but I found no official count. Some Islamists do want sharia as state law. Hizb ut-Tahrir seeks a caliphate under it, according to the committee's summary.[^pjcis] Holding that view is not a crime, because the 2026 Act targets violence and praise of violence.[^agact] See also [sharia](https://fightingislamists.com/sharia.html) and [Islamism](https://fightingislamists.com/islamism.html). ## What cuts the other way? - **Other ideologies.** Burgess described two Western Australian cases in 2026 that he attributed to extreme right-wing ideology: a bomb allegedly thrown into an Invasion Day rally in Perth in January, and an alleged plan to attack Parliament House, police headquarters and mosques in February.[^asio26][^perth] White Australia was banned as a hate group on 16 May 2026.[^nsghate] - **Not every religious attacker is Islamist.** Queensland Police called the 2022 Wieambilla ambush a religiously motivated terrorist attack. The coroner found the attackers psychotically unwell and could not conclude they had committed a terrorist act.[^wieam] - **Iran is a state, not a jihadist group.** The Revolutionary Guard directed arson attacks on Jewish sites, which Burgess called state-sponsored terrorism.[^asio26] - **A Muslim bystander stopped one gunman.** Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian Muslim, disarmed one of the Bondi attackers and was shot twice but survived.[^abcus][^wiki] - **The numbers are small.** The cases involve a tiny fraction of 813,392 Muslims, and ASIO counts 33 major plots foiled.[^abs][^nightly] ## Questions people ask ### What is the terrorism threat level in Australia? The national threat level is PROBABLE, the middle of five levels. ASIO set it there on 5 August 2024 and it remained there in October 2026. It means a better than even chance of an onshore attack or attack planning within 12 months, not intelligence of an imminent attack. ASIO's chief says the label understates a worsening environment. ### Is Hizb ut-Tahrir banned in Australia? Yes, but not as a terrorist organisation. The government listed it as a prohibited hate group on 5 March 2026. Belonging to it, recruiting for it or funding it is now a crime. The reason given was that it repeatedly praised attacks on Jews, including 7 October 2023. Former members say the ban targets ideology, and none has been convicted in Australia. ### Who carried out the Bondi attack? Police say a father and son, Sajid Akram, 50, and Naveed Akram, 24, shot people at a Hanukkah festival on 14 December 2025, killing 15. Police shot Sajid dead. Naveed survived and faces charges including a terrorist act and 15 murders. The Prime Minister said Islamic State appeared to have inspired it. Naveed had not pleaded by 30 April 2026, and no court has found him guilty. ### Is the Muslim Brotherhood banned in Australia? No. Australia has not listed the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation or a prohibited hate group, and ASIO's 2026 threat assessment does not mention it. Hamas, which began as its Palestinian branch, has been listed in full since 4 March 2022. Egypt and Saudi Arabia ban the Brotherhood. ### Does sharia law apply in Australia? No. Australia has one legal system, and sharia has no standing in Australian law. Under the Marriage Act 1961 a legal marriage needs an authorised celebrant, so a religious ceremony alone is not enough. Some Islamists, such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, want sharia as state law under a caliphate. Holding that view is not a crime, but praising violence can be. ### Does this mean Australian Muslims are a threat? No. About 813,392 Australians, 3.2%, said they were Muslim in the 2021 census, and almost none are terrorists. This guide criticises a political ideology and violent networks, not Muslims as a group. A Muslim bystander disarmed one of the Bondi gunmen, and ASIO also reports neo-Nazi, Christian-influenced and far-left extremists. ## Related guides - [Terrorism hub](https://fightingislamists.com/terrorism.html): every guide on Islamist terrorism and counter-terrorism. - [Islamist terrorist groups](https://fightingislamists.com/terrorist-groups.html): how Britain, the US and Australia list them. - [Islamic State](https://fightingislamists.com/islamic-state.html): origins, attacks and what remains of the caliphate. - [Islamist terrorism in the UK](https://fightingislamists.com/islamist-terrorism-uk.html): MI5, Prevent and the British attack record. - [The Muslim Brotherhood](https://fightingislamists.com/muslim-brotherhood.html): history, branches and where it is banned. - [Radicalisation](https://fightingislamists.com/radicalisation.html): how people are drawn in, and where to report a concern. [^asio26]: Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, "Director-General's Annual Threat Assessment 2026", Mike Burgess, 24 June 2026. [^asiotl]: Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, "National Terrorism Threat Level", Mike Burgess, 5 August 2024 (the page header shows the current level, "Probable", viewed 13 October 2026). [^nightly]: The Nightly, Andrew Greene, "ASIO reveals 16 disrupted terror threats since Bondi shootings as Mike Burgess warns of terrorism 'concern'", 11 September 2026. [^abs]: Australian Bureau of Statistics, "2021 Census shows changes in Australia's religious diversity", 28 June 2022. [^rc]: Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, "Interim Report", 30 April 2026. [^abcus]: ABC News (US), David Brennan, "Police question 24-year-old Bondi Beach mass shooting suspect in hospital", 16 December 2025. [^abc0525]: ABC News, Tom Lowrey and Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop, "ASIO's 2024 review of past terror cases didn't extend to prior flag on Bondi attackers", 25 May 2026. [^abc0523]: ABC News, Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop, "ASIO assessment did not warn about heightened Hanukkah risks before Bondi attack", 23 May 2026. [^nsglist]: Australian Government, National Security, "Listed terrorist organisations" (page last updated 27 June 2025), viewed 13 October 2026. [^nsghate]: Australian Government, National Security, "Listed prohibited hate groups" (page last updated 28 May 2026), viewed 13 October 2026. [^nsght]: Australian Government, National Security, "Hizb ut-Tahrir" (listed 5 March 2026, in effect 6 March). [^pjcis]: Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, "Review of the listing of Hizb ut-Tahrir as a prohibited hate group under the Criminal Code", report, May 2026. ; [^burke]: Tony Burke MP, Minister for Home Affairs, "Hizb ut-Tahrir listed as a prohibited hate group", 6 March 2026. [^agact]: Attorney-General's Department, "Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026". [^vic]: Victoria Police, "Counter Terrorism Strategy 2022-2025: Appendix B, Timeline of major terrorist incidents in Australia since 2005" (updated 16 December 2024). [^john]: Justice Peter Johnson, "Some issues arising from terrorism trials and sentencing", Supreme Court of New South Wales, 10 March 2020. [^cor]: Coroners Court of Victoria, State Coroner John Cain, "Findings into death with inquest: Sestilio Malaspina and Hassan Khalif Shire Ali", 28 June 2021. [^aj]: Al Jazeera, "Australia's counterterrorism team arrests seven teens in overnight raids", 24 April 2024. [^afp]: Australian Federal Police, "Seven arrested following Joint Counter Terrorism Team operation", 24 April 2024. [^abdi]: The Nightly (AAP), "Raghe Mohamed Abdi: Brisbane terror suspect killed couple after bail tracking 'failure'", 8 May 2025. [^irgc]: Penny Wong, Tony Burke and Michelle Rowland, joint media release, "Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps listed as a state sponsor of terrorism", 27 November 2025. [^ag]: Attorney-General's Department, "Get married" (Marriage Act 1961 requirements). [^wieam]: ABC News, Tobi Loftus, "Trio behind deadly Wieambilla attack had 'shared delusional disorder' and were 'intent' on killing, coroner finds", 21 November 2025. [^perth]: The New Daily (AAP), Aaron Bunch, "Man accused of attempted Invasion Day bombing named", 17 February 2026. [^wiki]: Wikipedia, "2025 Bondi Beach shooting" (secondary source on Ahmed al-Ahmed), viewed 13 October 2026.