Australia Lists Terrorgram as a Terrorist Organisation

Being a member of Terrorgram will be met with penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Dec. 2, 2022. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

The Australian Labor government has designated Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation following consultation with national security and intelligence agencies.

Allegedly, the group has been associated with the radicalisation of a teen who plotted to kill a New South Wales (NSW) state Labor MP.

The government describes Terrorgram as a “nationalist and racist violent extremist organisation” that operates on encrypted platforms, including Terrorgram.

It said the new listing would help keep Australians “safe” from terrorism and violent extremism.

“The Australian government will continue to use all the tools available to prevent the rise of violent extremism, to confront racially motivated violence and to counter hate in all its forms,” the government said.

Any association or support for terrorist organisations are punishable with penalties of up to 25 years imprisonment.

Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister Tony Burke described online radicalisation as a “growing threat” but said the government would use every available tool to keep Australians safe.

“This 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,” he said.

“This listing will give Australian police and security and intelligence agencies significantly more power to keep Australians safe and restrict the operation of extremists in our country.”

Group Linked to Plot to Kill Labor MP

Burke confirmed that the group was linked to a plot to kill NSW Labor MP Tim Crakanthorp. However, he would not say if the group had any role in threats on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s family.

“I won’t confirm more than the NSW attack on Tim Crakanthorp, because we’ve given that one as part of the formal reasons for the listings, but I can tell you that Australians are much safer in a situation where the moment we know that somebody is part of this group, we can charge them,” Burke told Sky News Australia on June 29.

Burke said Terrorgram operated internationally and all the members were “anonymous.”

“Effectively, it functions more like a giant chat group on the platform Telegram, where on that platform they have things called channels and a series of subgroups within them,” he said.

Burke said he was very pleased the penalties were now in place, with 10 years imprisonment at stake simply for being a member of Terrorgram.

“Terrorgram has been shown to be a threat on our shores, as I say, different to what we normally think of when we think of terrorism, but a very direct attempted attack on an Australian Member of Parliament,” Burke said.

US, UK Have Also Acted on Terrorgram

Australia’s move follows similar actions taken by the United States and the UK.

The U.S. Department of State designated Terrorgram Collective and three of its leaders as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” on Jan. 13.

The Department described Terrorgram as a “transnational terrorist group” largely active on Telegram.

“The group promotes violent white supremacism, solicits attacks on perceived adversaries, and provides guidance and instructional materials on tactics, methods, and targets for attacks, including on critical infrastructure and government officials,” a spokesperson for the department said.

“The group also glorifies those who have conducted such attacks.”

Meanwhile, in April 2024, the UK designated the Terrorgram collective as a terrorist organisation via an amendment to the Terrorism Act 2000.