In 2002 the Federal Government introduced changes to the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) ("Criminal Code") to counter terrorist actions and the perceived growth in terrorist organisations. The changes extended the scope of actions associated with terrorism and the power to detain and deal with alleged suspects.

A "terrorist act" is defined as an action or threat that is carried out with the intention of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause, and also done with the intention of coercing or intimidating the government or general public. Additionally, for an act to be classed as terrorism there must be an intention to:

However, the Criminal Code specifically declares that an action is not a terrorist act if it is "advocacy, protest, dissent or industrial action"’ that is not intended to:

Although the right to peacefully protest remains intact, it is arguable that a broad reading of the Criminal Code could be used to impede or prohibit assembly where the authorities are of the view that there is a potential for violent activity. The key may be solid organisation of the action, and you may choose to put other parties such as the police on notice to confirm your intention of a peaceful protest.

In recent years there have been a number of successful prosecutions under the new terrorism provisions; however, these appear to be limited to situations where there has been clear evidence to support an intention to cause serious harm or damage as described above. The case law is emerging and there are many aspects of the anti-terrorist legislation that remain untested at this stage and are beyond the scope of this chapter.

Contact your local community legal centre or Amnesty International (at www.amnesty.org.au) should you require more information. (See: Chapter 2*4 Advice Directory, for a listing of community legal centres.)