Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has directed his department to draft legislation to proscribe Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia as a terrorist organisation. Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamic political party that advocates for the establishment of a global caliphate and for the liberation of Palestine, and it states that it operates through non-violent political activity. Several countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Egypt, and other states in the Middle East and Asia, have previously banned the organisation.

The proposed move follows the Bondi Beach attack on 14 December, in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah-related gathering. Australian authorities have stated that Hizb ut-Tahrir has no connection to the attack. The federal government has nonetheless announced plans to expand its framework for proscribing groups, introducing a new category for organisations deemed to promote hatred or extremism even if they do not meet the existing legal threshold for terrorist activity. Burke said this framework would apply to both Islamist and far-right groups, including Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Nationalist Socialist Network.

Speaking publicly, Burke acknowledged that Hizb ut-Tahrir is non-violent but argued that its activities warrant prohibition under the proposed system. The Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Mike Burgess, has stated that Hizb ut-Tahrir seeks to establish a caliphate in Australia, an allegation made by security agencies in several other countries that have banned the group. Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia has rejected the proposed ban and issued statements criticising the government’s approach, while the legislation to enable the proscription has yet to be introduced or debated in parliament.