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The federal government has listed white supremacist network Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation, in a bid to keep Australians “safe from terrorism and violent extremism”.
Terrorgram is a decentralised online network that promotes white supremacy and racially motivated violence.
The listing under the Criminal Code means anyone who is a member of, recruits for, trains with, funds or provides support to Terrorgram will face penalties of up to 25 years in prison.
The government calls Terrorgram a nationalist and racist violence extremist organisation which operates on decentralised and encrypted platforms, primarily Telegram.
“Terrorgram users create and distribute propaganda to inspire terrorist attacks on minority groups, critical infrastructure and specific individuals,” a statement from Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Friday.
“Terrorgram advocates for and provides instructions on how to conduct a terrorist attack, and has successfully inspired terrorist attacks in the United States, Europe and Asia.”
The United Kingdom proscribed Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation in April 2024, followed by the United States, which listed the collective and three of its leaders as “specially designated global terrorists” in January.
The US state department said attacks or attempted attacks by Terrorgram users, motivated and facilitated by the group, included a shooting outside an LGBTIQ+ bar in Slovakia in October 2022, a planned attack on energy facilities in New Jersey last July and a knife attack at a mosque in Türkiye last August.
Two US Terrorgram leaders were charged last September with soliciting hate crimes, the murder of federal officials and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
Speaking to the ABC on Friday morning, Burke said the network is “very different” to others that Australia designates as terrorist organisations.
“When people think about a terrorist group organising, normally you imagine people in small groups meeting in private homes, and gradually recruiting people to their cause before they organise something,” he said.
“This one is more like a giant chat group dedicated to evil, to hatred and to violence.”
Burke said the organisation is a “form of far-right extremism”.
‘Direct threat to Australians’
Speaking to the ABC, Burke said Terrorgram has been a “direct threat to Australians”.
“There has been one attack in particular, that was directly part of this network, that took place,” he said.
“My priority with all of this is to be able to make sure that we can keep Australians safe. Making sure we can target this, not just in the sanctions regime, but using our national security apparatus, is something that I’m really committed to.”
Burke said in the statement that the listing will give Australian police and security and intelligence agencies “significantly more power” to restrict the operation of extremists in the country.
“Online radicalisation is a growing threat but the government has tools at its disposal and we will use every one of them to keep Australians safe,” he said.
“”his group fosters and promotes an ideology that would seek to make some Australians feel unwelcome in their home, it is this extremist hatred which is not welcome and has no place in Australia.”
