Designated terrorist organisations in Australia are organisations that have been designated by the
Australian government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...
as
terrorist organisation
A number of national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and fo ...
s. A list of terrorist organisations was first created under the ''Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002'', as part of the fight against terrorism worldwide.
History
The ''Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002'' was passed by the
Australian Parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...
, "enabling Australian governments to deal with organisations involved in terrorism", and inserted a range of terrorist organisation offences into the ''
Criminal Code Act 1995
The criminal law of Australia is the body of law in Australia that relates to crime.
Responsibility for criminal law in Australia is divided between the state and territory parliaments and the Commonwealth Parliament. This division is due to t ...
'' (Cth).
For example, the Act made it an offence to materially support or be supported by a listed terrorist organisation.
Oversight and monitoring
The list of designated terror organisations is maintained by the
Attorney-General's Department. For listing as a terrorist organisation, an organisation may be found to be such by a court as part of a prosecution for a terrorist offence or the designation may be made by regulation upon the motion of the
Attorney-General of Australia
The Attorney-GeneralThe title is officially "Attorney-General". For the purposes of distinguishing the office from other attorneys-general, and in accordance with usual practice in the United Kingdom and other common law jurisdictions, the Aust ...
under Division 102 of the ''Criminal Code Act 1995''. Listing, de-listing and re-listing follows a protocol that mainly involves the
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO ) is Australia's national security agency responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated vi ...
and the Attorney-General's Department. Such action in general is not made with reference to designations made or proposed by other countries or multinational organisations.
Under Division 103 of the ''
Criminal Code Act 1995
The criminal law of Australia is the body of law in Australia that relates to crime.
Responsibility for criminal law in Australia is divided between the state and territory parliaments and the Commonwealth Parliament. This division is due to t ...
'', it is illegal to finance terrorism.
[Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) s 1.1](_blank)
Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). Retrieved 20 January 2015. The
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) monitors financial transactions involving listed terrorist organisations.
List of designated terrorist organisations
the Australian government lists 28 foreign organisations as terrorist organisations:
[
]Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qas ...
was listed in July 2014, but was removed from the list by January 2015. Hamas was reinstated in 2022.
The Base and the entirety of Hezbollah
Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
were added on 24 November 2021.
Terrorism financing laws
Australian anti-terrorism financing laws include:
* ''Criminal Code Act 1995
The criminal law of Australia is the body of law in Australia that relates to crime.
Responsibility for criminal law in Australia is divided between the state and territory parliaments and the Commonwealth Parliament. This division is due to t ...
'' (Cth):
** section 102.6 – getting funds to, from or for a terrorist organisation
** section 102.7 – providing support to a terrorist organisation
** section 103.1 – financing terrorism
** section 103.2 – financing a terrorist, and
** section 119.4(5) – giving or receiving goods and services to promote the commission of a foreign incursion offence.
* ''Charter of the United Nations Act 1945'' (Cth):
** section 20 – dealing with freezable assets, and
** section 21 – giving an asset to a proscribed person or entity.
These offences sanction persons and entities under Australian and international law. The responsibility of prosecuting these offences in Australia rests with the Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. ...
, state police forces and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of A ...
.
See also
*Anti-Terrorism Act 2005
The ''Anti-Terrorism Act 2005'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, which is intended to hamper the activities of any potential terrorists in the country. The counter-terrorism law was passed on 6 December 2005.
Background
Hi ...
*Australian anti-terrorism legislation, 2004
Three anti-terrorism bills were enacted in the Australian Parliament in 2004 by the Howard Coalition government with the support of the Labor Opposition. These were the ''Anti-terrorism Bill 2004'', the ''Anti-terrorism Bill (No 2) 2004'' and ...
*List of designated terrorist groups
A number of national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and fo ...
*Terrorism in Australia
Terrorism in Australia deals with terrorist acts in Australia as well as steps taken by the Australian government to counter the threat of terrorism. In 2004 the Australian government has identified transnational terrorism as also a threat to ...
References
{{Reflist
Australian crime-related lists
Commonwealth of Australia laws
Terrorism laws in Australia
Terrorism-related lists