A dedicated police task force to protect politicians during the election campaign will be set up, following recent threats against several parliamentarians.
The Australian Federal Police task force will use "real time intelligence" to investigate reports of security threats made against parliamentarians and candidates along with other electoral crimes.
In a statement announcing the move, the AFP said it supports political expression and freedom of speech, but harassment, intimidation and threats would not be tolerated.
"The task force sends a strong message to the community that the AFP is dedicated to protecting democracy, protecting high-office holders and will not hesitate to identify and arrest those who break the law," the statement said.
"Hiding behind a keyboard to issue threats against politicians does not ensure anonymity.
It's the first time the AFP has established a dedicated response and specialised task force to protect politicians ahead of an election and comes after AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw warned he expected threats to increase in the lead up to the May poll.
Last week, Canberra based Labor MP Andrew Leigh was granted a personal protection order in the ACT Magistrates Court after his office was targeted.
"This sort of thing is becoming sadly more common, and one of the challenges I think is that there's groups that are whipping each other up online and sharing tactics," Mr Leigh told the ABC.
"I've never minded being criticised, in fact, I think that's one marker of a healthy democracy, but it's when you try and shut people down that it becomes a real danger."
It came after two people were charged earlier in March over alleged threats they made online against Shadow Home Affairs Minister Kristina Keneally.
A 29-year-old man from Sydney's west and a 41-year-old woman from Maitland in the NSW Hunter region will face court next month after allegedly making threats against the senator using a social media messaging app.
"It will be alleged in court that the man and woman were responsible for sending two separate threatening messages on 23 November 2021, which threatened or advocated violent acts," the AFP said at the time.
Senator Keneally thanked the AFP for taking the safety and security of parliamentarians seriously.
"In our political debates and discourse, unfortunately we are seeing an increasing trend towards extremist views and threats of violence," she said.
Meanwhile, Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe has also expressed concerns about the threat of far-right extremism after being named in an online video shared by a neo-Nazi group.
The video showed men in balaclavas setting fire to the Aboriginal flag while also performing Nazi salute.
She criticised the AFP for failing to act fast enough, telling NITV in February she feared for her personal safety and that of her daughter.
The task force, which will be headed by an AFP Commander, will be a sub-component of a major incident coordination centre in Canberra.
It will begin operating once the election is formally called, which could be as early as the end of this week.
According to the authorities, three people have been prosecuted for the crime of "threatening to cause harm to a Commonwealth office" during the past 18 months.
One person has been prosecuted for using a postal service to make a threat to kill, and five individuals have faced charges for using a carriage service to menace or harass.
