13/01/2026

The Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill is important legislative reform that should not be rushed through Parliament in haste, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

“Given the very important need to balance community protection with ensuring the rule of law is not undermined, pushing this legislation through so quickly is dangerous,” said Greg Barns SC, spokesperson, Australian Lawyers Alliance.

“We are very concerned about the extremely limited time for consultation and consideration. This is an important and influential Bill and there should be sufficient and appropriate timeframes for stakeholder consultation – instead feedback on this Bill is due in just two days.

“Hastily drafted laws may overlook critical details, fail to anticipate unintended consequences, or inadequately balance competing interests, and so we urge the Government to take the time to obtain thorough feedback on this significant Bill.

“We should always be very careful about any reform that adversely affects our freedoms.

“There is ambiguity in the Bill’s drafting which can be seen in its failure to define key concepts. For example, what constitutes ‘private land’ in the context of the application of the statute. The Bill refers to ‘unacceptable risk’. This phrase is nebulous and very difficult for a court to interpret. It also considers whether material is in the ‘public interest’, but it is not clear what this means and who determines it.

“Another concern is lowering the fault element for prohibited terrorist organisation symbols offences. This is a serious offence and under this proposed law a person without knowledge it was such a symbol could be convicted.

“Further, we are extremely concerned about the retrospectivity of this Bill - the consideration of conduct that occurred long before the Bill commences - because it is at odds with the longstanding presumption against retrospectivity when facing serious legal consequences.

“Likewise, the failure to observe the established requirements of procedural fairness, especially with prohibited list declarations, would provide those accused with no clear opportunity to respond to allegations.

“Our response to extremism needs to be deliberate, considered and take into perspective the factors that lead to such extremist views.

“There are real forces of antisemitism and extremist ideologies in our community that must be addressed however responding quickly under pressure is often counter intuitive and will not benefit the safety of the community longer term.”