Violent extremism in Australia: An overview

Since Federation, Australia has not been immune to violent extremism, although the scale of such violence is less evident than in many countries throughout the world.

Currently, the nation is responding to a heightened risk of violent extremism. It is therefore timely to describe the nature of violent extremism that has manifested in Australia – ethno-nationalist, political and most recently, jihadist.

This paper examines the nature of extremist violence that has impacted on Australia, and highlights changes in the risk and the nature of violent extremism over time.