In September 2014 the terrorism threat level was raised from ‘medium’ to ‘high’ – the first change in 13 years. This year, the government estimated that the number of high risk terrorist threats being monitored by security agencies had doubled and that more than 100 Australians were fighting for groups in Syria and Iraq. A team of ASPI analysts has examined the scope and nature of terrorism motivated by violent Islamist extremism in Australia through a comprehensive database of the high-profile Australians identified as foreign fighters and those that have come to the attention of authorities in Australia.

Based on the findings from this research, ASPI's recently released STRATEGY report assesses the policy responses by the government to date and offers recommendations. We don’t propose that the government create large new structures or make increases to the budget beyond what has already been provided. Our recommendations focus on taking new approaches with existing organisations or reinforcing old approaches that have proved effective. Governments should avoid over-reaction, which terror groups hope to provoke. We focus instead on the importance of better communication and cooperation across government and society as a whole.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Devar.