Young, conspiracy-drawn teens are potential terrorists
The Independent National Security Legislation Monitor is looking at whether Australia's laws are fit-for-purpose, contain appropriate protections for individual rights, remain proportionate to threats and remain necessary.
The Australian definition of a "terrorist act" has not changed since it was enacted in 2002.
"Next year will be the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and that's the event that really shaped out understanding of terrorism," monitor Jake Blight told AAP.
"When we made this law it was followed by the Bali bombings. These were international organisations that were well-funded and executed mass casualty events."
Citing ASIO's most recent threat assessment released in February, Mr Blight said the typical profile of who is a terrorist has markedly shifted.
"But now and especially since COVID, it's mostly young people, mostly acting along, they're radicalised online and with basic weapons or not even a really fully fledged plan," he said.
"They're mostly Australian-born, they're male, they're minors and they're from families previously unconnected to extremism."
The average age of those under investigation for violent extremism was 15.
He said less than half the potential terrorist matters investigated by ASIO in 2024 were religiously motivated.
Those under investigation were not just confined to major cities but were spread out across rural and remote communities.
All involved lone actors or small groups, almost all involved minors and almost all individuals involved were unknown to ASIO or the police.
None appeared to be directly inspired by conflict in the Middle East or directed by offshore extremists, the assessment found.
More than 300 federal, state and territory laws contain offences, obligations and powers that rely on the 2002 definition, Mr Blight found in a 58-page issues paper.
These included many exceptional powers and modifications to longstanding legal principles including keeping suspects in detention after serving their sentences and the ability to strip citizenship.
"We need to make sure that our terrorism laws are effective but also consistent with our human rights obligations," he said.
Mr Blight also cautioned that defining terrorism was a tricky legal minefield and that public figures needed to be careful in their language.
"People use the word terrorism to describe horror or abhorrence, it's kind of a short-hand for the worst crime they can think of but that isn't legally accurate," he explained.
"There are many terrible and terrifying crimes that are not terrorism."
In January, an abandoned caravan packed with explosives discovered in northwest Sydney contained a list of addresses of Jewish institutions.
Police did not officially designate the incident as a terrorist event, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns labelled it a potential terrorist act.
Australian Federal Police officials later said the fabricated caravan plot was a criminal con job.
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