AFP launches online counter-terrorism centre in shadow of Bondi Terror attack
The Australian Federal Police has today announced a new Counter Terrorism Online Centre aimed at detecting and disrupting extremist threats.
The announcement comes five months after the ISIS-inspired terror attack at the Chanukah by the Sea celebration at Bondi Beach, where 15 people were killed, sending shockwaves through Australia’s Jewish community and beyond.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett warned that young Australians were now being radicalised at unprecedented speed through social media, gaming platforms and encrypted online networks.
The centre, to be jointly operated by the AFP and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, forms part of a reported $74 million federal investment in online counter-terrorism capabilities and comes amid growing fears about antisemitic extremism and online hate-fuelled violence.
The announcement follows months of heightened concern after the December 2025 Bondi Beach terror attack at a Chanukah event attended largely by Jewish Australians.
The recent interim findings of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion concluded that Australia’s threat environment had significantly deteriorated in the lead-up to the attack and called for stronger intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism coordination.
Announcing the new online centre, Barrett said terrorists and “hatemongers” were exploiting vulnerable individuals through emerging technology and the increasingly blurred line between online and real-world activity.
She said the new centre would focus heavily on detecting extremist recruiters and online incitement before violence occurs.
Barret: “Many young people are becoming desensitised to violence because of the material they [are] consuming or creating online” (Photo: Pexels)
“The speed and scale of radicalisation is becoming one of our most significant challenges, especially when it comes to youth.”
Barrett warned that the distinction between online activity and real-world violence was increasingly disappearing. She warned that many young people were becoming desensitised to violence because of the material they were consuming or creating online.
“Too many of our young and vulnerable are at the crossroads to crime,” she said.
The new centre will monitor extremist activity across social media, gaming platforms, online forums and the dark web, while acting as an early warning system for Australia’s Joint Counter Terrorism Teams.
Barrett said authorities were also focused on diverting vulnerable individuals away from extremist pathways before they progressed to violence.
Barrett said authorities would use both human intelligence and artificial intelligence to identify extremist recruiters and online incitement while also trying to divert individuals considered vulnerable to radicalisation.
“We need to use a combination of human intelligence and artificial intelligence to disrupt and detect the extremist recruiters and inciters, while protecting and diverting those at risk,” she said.
Barrett described shielding children from online manipulation and extremist influence as one of her highest priorities as AFP Commissioner.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told The Daily Telegraph that artificial intelligence could “turbocharge” online radicalisation by enabling extremists to deploy automated tools capable of targeting isolated and vulnerable individuals.
Australian media reports have also highlighted concerns about extremist propaganda appearing within online gaming environments, including Nazi-themed virtual spaces and simulated ISIS-related scenarios on platforms popular with young users.
Security agencies have increasingly warned that online radicalisation is becoming more fragmented, less organised and harder to detect, with individuals exposed to violent ideologies through algorithms, private chat groups and encrypted networks rather than traditional extremist organisations.
Barrett has previously said the AFP expanded specialist national security investigation teams targeting hate-fuelled violence and extremist threats, including threats directed at the Jewish community.
Government figures released this week showed that 27 people had been charged with violent extremist material offences over the past two years, including 15 aged 17 or younger, amid growing concern about online radicalisation among teenagers.
