A national centre to detect and disrupt the threat of online violent extremism and terrorism is to be set up by the federal government, with next week’s budget providing $74 million over two years for it.
The Counter Terrorism Online Centre will be led jointly by ASIO and the Australian Federal Police. They will work with local and international law enforcement authorities. The initiative reflects the mounting concern about how young people can be manipulated online by those engaged in terrorism.
Last week the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion released its interim report. After reviewing classified information, it observed that despite an overall increase in funding for the national intelligence community, “the proportion of funding allocated to counter-terrorism significantly declined across the NIC over the period from 2020 to 2025”.
