The purpose of Australia's counter-terrorism effort is to safeguard Australia, its people and its interests from the harms of terrorism and violent extremism. This is being pursued through:
- countering violent extremism by preventing radicalisation of individuals before an attack takes place, and rehabilitating and reintegrating violent extremist offenders
- equipping our law enforcement, security intelligence and other operational agencies with the resources and powers to tackle terrorist threats
- ensuring our counter-terrorism arrangements are resilient, collaborative, consistent and proportionate both nationally and internationally.
Australia's international counter-terrorism efforts are focused on law enforcement, intelligence, border and transport security, diplomacy, defence, counter terrorism financing, building counter-terrorism capacity in the region and countering violent extremism.
International Counter-Terrorism Engagement
We are focused on building effective partnerships with governments and institutions to address emerging risks and convergent threats. Partnerships have proven critical to achieving Australia's security and counter-terrorism objectives [PDF].
International engagement on counter-terrorism provides insight into diverse perspectives, informing policymakers on the priorities and challenges faced internationally and their potential impacts on Australian interests.
Diplomatic engagement on counter-terrorism is led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australia's Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism coordinates international engagement in close consultation with Australian government stakeholders.
We facilitate information and policy exchanges to build organisational relationships across the Australian government and with corresponding partner agencies. International links assist in the development of policy responses and proactive counter-terrorism practices which align with international obligations.
We actively support collective international initiatives focused on enhancing counter-terrorism cooperation through regional and multilateral forums. Our international engagement on counter-terrorism complements, and is consistent with, Australia's broader foreign policy and international security priorities.
Through proactive engagement with partners, we seek to ensure the continued safety of Australians and that our region remains secure. Effective cooperation between nations continues to be an essential element in preventing and countering terrorism globally.