disclaimer
This explainer provides general information only and does not in any way provide legal advice, or purport to do so. The application of the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026 will vary depending on individual circumstances and its interpretation by the courts.
High-level summary
The Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026 is a package of changes to criminal and migration laws, combatting rising antisemitism and hate-motivated extremism in Australia in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack in December 2025.
ECAJ supported the legislation as a step in the right direction, whilst pointing out its shortcomings.
We are disappointed that the final legislation, as passed by the Parliament, removed a provision in the original draft that would have created a new offence of intentionally promoting or inciting racial hatred (that is, hatred based on skin colour or national or ethnic origin).
In written and oral submissions over many years, and in our public advocacy, the ECAJ has been advocating that such an offence be enacted, so that offenders can be prosecuted by the police rather than having to be taken to court by the victims.
The Antisemitism Envoy’s action plan also called for such an offence to be enacted.
The ECAJ continues to advocate that the intentional promotion or incitement of racial hatred be made an offence.
The remainder of the legislation, as enacted, introduced some significant reforms that are likely to be of real benefit in combatting racism. Three of the most important reforms are:
- A new legal regime has been established to enable the government to proscribe, and effectively ban the activities of, extremist hate groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and neo-Nazi organisations that engage in, prepare, plan, assist or advocate hate crimes. These groups and their supporters will now face legal sanctions even though the groups are not listed as terrorist organisations in Australia.
- The government will have expanded powers to refuse or cancel visas of visa-holders who engage in hate-related activity.
- There will be a new aggravated offence for preachers and leaders who promote or incite violence.
Further detail
What the legislation is aimed at
The legislation does not create a single new law. Rather, it is a package of amendments to a number of existing federal criminal and immigration laws and is quite difficult to understand on its own.
Put simply, these amendments aim to:
- Strengthen and expand criminal offences targetting hateful and extremist conduct
- Empower the government to ban hate groups
- Empower the government to refuse or cancel visas on hate-related grounds
Strengthened and expanded criminal offences
The legislation strengthens and expands criminal offences for hateful and extremist conduct:
- Increased penalties for hate crime offences
- New aggravated offence for preachers and leaders who promote or incite violence
- New aggravated sentencing factor where criminal conduct was motivated by hate based on race, or national or ethnic origin
- Broadening offences relating to hate symbols and extremist conduct
New powers to ban hate groups
The legislation allows the government to ban hate groups that engage in, or advocate, hate crimes.
Once a hate group is banned, it is a criminal offence for people to lead or organise it, be a member, recruit for it, train with it, or provide any financial or other assistance to it.
The legislation requires a robust assessment and approval process before a hate group can be banned:
- Intelligence assessment: The ASIO Director General can advise that the hate group is linked to hate-based conduct and violence, requiring evidence that it is engaged in, or advocated, hate crimes.
- Ministerial consideration: The Minister for AFP (usually the Home Affairs Minister) must be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the organisation has engaged in, or advocated, hate crimes, and that banning the group is reasonably necessary to prevent harm to the community.
- Attorney-General approval: The Attorney-General must agree to the proposal.
- Governor-General approval: The Governor-General can ban the group by regulation only after these assessments and approvals.
Even after going through this rigorous process, a regulation banning a group could be disallowed (that is, overturned) by a majority vote of either House of the Federal Parliament.
New powers to refuse or cancel visas
The legislation allows the Minister for Home Affairs to:
- Refuse a visa application on the basis that the applicant has engaged in, or is likely to engage in, hate-motivated conduct
- Cancel visas held by non-citizens with extremist or hate-related conduct
Questions and answers
What was wrong with previous laws?
These amendments were needed because previous laws:
- Did not set penalties for hate crimes and did not reflect the seriousness of the consequences of those crimes on target groups and wider Australia
- Did not recognise the influential role of religious and other leaders in motivating extremists
- Did not allow the banning of extremist hate groups that fell short of the definition of terrorist groups
- Did not give the government to refuse or cancel visas for hate-related reasons
Who does it affect?
The criminal law changes apply to everyone in Australia.
The visa law changes only apply to non-citizens, such as visa applicants and temporary residents, who are, or are applying to be, in Australia on a visa.
Does it apply only to antisemitism?
No. While the antisemitism that contributed to the Bondi Beach terror attack led to the legislation, the changes have much wider application to other forms of hate and extremism targeting skin colour or national or ethnic origin.
Does the new law allow the government to ban groups because of their political opinion?
No, the law only allows the government to ban groups that engage in, or advocate, hate crimes. Merely advocating political views without promoting racism is not an offence.
The law is intended to ban extremist hate groups like the now-defunct neo-Nazi National Socialist Network and the Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir, that fall just short of being able to be designated as terrorist organsiations.
Does the new law restrict political opinion or freedom of speech?
No, the legislation targets conduct, not political views or criticism of governments. It does not make criticism of Israel and Zionism illegal in itself, but proscribes hateful and extremist conduct targeting other people on the basis of their skin colour or national or ethnic origin.
ECAJ’s position
ECAJ supported the legislation as a step in the right direction, even though it had shortcomings which we pointed out.
We were disappointed that the final legislation did not criminalise the intentional promotion or incitement of racial hatred, as ECAJ has long advocated and as was proposed by the Antisemitism Envoy. ECAJ will continue to advocate for criminalisation of promotion or incitement of racial hatred.
However, the legislation was still a substantial improvement, particularly:
- New powers to ban hate groups that fall just short of the requirements for listing as terrorist organisations – something ECAJ has been calling for since 2021
- Expanded government powers to refuse or cancel visas of vis-holders who engage in hate-related activity
- Tougher penalties for existing hate crimes
- Wider laws against displaying hate symbols
Read our statement welcoming the passage of the legislation, for detail.
Further reading
- ECAJ statement welcoming passage of the legislation
- Antisemitism Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism
- Record of Parliamentary debates for the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026
- Full text of the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026
