This paper examines the scope and nature of terrorism motivated by violent Islamist extremism in Australia through a comprehensive database, assesses the policy responses by the government to date, and offers recommendations.

Overview

In September 2014 the terrorism threat level was raised from ‘medium’ to ‘high’ – the first change in 13 years. This year, the government estimated that the number of high risk terrorist threats being monitored by security agencies had doubled and that more than 100 Australians were fighting for groups in Syria and Iraq. A team of ASPI analysts has examined the scope and nature of terrorism motivated by violent Islamist extremism in Australia through a comprehensive database of the high-profile Australians identified as foreign fighters and those that have come to the attention of authorities in Australia.

Based on the findings from this research, the paper assesses the policy responses by the government to date and offers recommendations.