Mr Mike Burgess, Director-General of Security
12 October 2023
The tragic events in the Middle East are resonating in the Australian community, however the national terrorism threat level remains POSSIBLE.
Protests, rallies and associated activities are expected to continue, and are likely to feature strong emotive claims.
I remain concerned about the potential for opportunistic violence with little or no warning. However, it is important to distinguish opportunistic violence from planned violence or acts of terrorism.
ASIO remains well-placed to detect threats to security including potential acts of politically motivated violence or the promotion of communal violence.
ASIO is carefully monitoring the situation for any indications of planned violence and were we to see any, we would respond accordingly, along with our law enforcement partners.
In this context, it is important that all parties consider the implications for social cohesion when making public statements. As I have said previously, words matter. ASIO has seen direct connections between inflamed language and inflamed community tensions.
As always, ASIO is not interested in those who are engaged in lawful protest, but rather the small subset of protesters who may wish to escalate protest to violence—this includes religiously motivated and ideologically motivated extremists, or anyone who believes that violence is a means to further their own interests.