On 12 January 2026, the Australian Prime Minister announced that the Parliament would be recalled to consider the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026. An Exposure Draft of the Bill was released on 13 January 2026. This is a preliminary Bills Digest produced to assist early consideration of in relation to the exposure draft. The Bill aims to combat antisemitism, hate and extremism and strengthen gun laws in Australia.

This paper outlines the purpose and structure of the Bill, its background, the policy position of non-government parties/independents, stakeholder comments, and key issues and provisions.

The Bill includes a number of significant amendments, including:

• introducing a range of new offences including an aggravated offence for religious, spiritual or other leaders who advocate or threaten violence
• newly defining ‘hate crime’ in Commonwealth law as certain crimes targeting persons based on race or national or ethnic origin
• providing a new framework to allow organisations to be listed in regulations as ‘prohibited hate groups'
• amending customs regulations to prohibit the import and export of violent extremist material and prohibited hate symbols, and strengthening importation controls on firearms
• establishing a National Gun Buyback Scheme.