Threats Against MPs, Dignitaries Have Almost Doubled in 2 Years, AFP Warns

The Australian Federal Police says online anonymity has contributed to rising harassment.

Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivers his budget speech at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on March 25, 2025. Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images

In a sign of an increasingly fractured society, reports of threats to people in prominent roles have almost doubled in just two years, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has told a Senate Estimates hearing.

The issue is of such concern that AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw highlighted it in his opening statement.