Before ParliamentDefence & Security Introduced in the House of Representatives, 12 Aug 2026

Emergency terror powers would run until 2029

Some special police powers against terrorism would last until December 2029. These include stop and search, control orders, and holding terrorists after prison. The bill also changes how freed terrorists are watched and how terror groups come off the banned list.

Official name: Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill 2026

Who it affects

• Terrorists close to leaving prison: Police could get permission to secretly watch or listen to you while you are inside, to decide whether to seek a control order.
• Teenagers aged 14 to 17 seen as a terror risk: A court could put rules on you for up to 12 months at a time. Now the limit is 3 months.
• People found guilty without a conviction recorded: That finding could now be shown to a court thinking about a control order or an order after prison.
• People at airports and other federal places: Police could keep stopping, questioning and searching people they think are linked to terror, without a court's permission, until 2029.
• United Nations aid and development workers: Attacks on people working on United Nations aid and peace missions would become Australian crimes. The United Nations is a group of almost every country in the world.

Terror powers expire in December

Parliament passed new terror laws in 2005. After that, it gave many special police powers an end date. The idea was that Parliament would have to look again before keeping them. Several of these powers are due to end on 7 December 2026.

The government says the risk of terror attacks is growing. The Parliamentary Library works for all MPs and takes no side. It points to the attack at the Chanukah by the Sea party at Bondi on 14 December 2025. Chanukah is a Jewish festival.

It also lists attacks in Sydney and Melbourne in 2024 that Iran backed. And it says 31 big plots have been stopped since 2014.

People are also being drawn to violent extremism at a younger age. In March 2026, Tony Burke gave a figure. He is the Home Affairs Minister, in charge of borders and national security. He said 31% of people in programs that steer people away from violent extremism were under 18.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland brought in the bill. She is the minister for the justice system. The bill has eight parts. Each one is explained below.

Special powers kept until 2029

Part 1 moves the end date for four sets of powers. The date goes from 7 December 2026 to 7 December 2029.

The first set lets police stop, question and search people in federal places such as airports. Police can also take items. They must have a fair reason to think a person is linked to terror.

The Minister can name an area a security zone. In a security zone, police need no reason at all.

Police can also go into any building without a court's permission if someone's life is in serious and instant danger. They must then ask a court for permission as soon as they can.

The second set is control orders. A court can put rules on a person for up to 12 months. The rules can limit where they go and who they see. This is to stop an attack before it happens. The person does not have to be found guilty of anything.

The third set lets police hold a person for up to 48 hours. This is to stop an attack that is about to happen, or to protect evidence after one. These are called preventative detention orders.

The fourth set is orders after prison. A terrorist finishes their time in prison. A court can keep them in prison for up to 3 more years if they are still a serious risk. That is a continuing detention order.

Or the court can let them out with strict rules. That is an extended supervision order.

The government says some of these powers are rarely used. It says that shows they are used with care. It says they could be vital in a crisis.

Watching offenders after prison

Part 2 changes the orders made after prison. Right now, one minister can ask a court for either kind. That is the minister in charge of the Australian Federal Police, the national police force.

Under the bill, the Minister could no longer ask straight out for an order to let someone out with strict rules. The Minister could still ask to keep a person in prison.

The court might decide that keeping them in prison goes too far. Then it must still think about letting them out with strict rules.

Some people are not a fit for being kept in prison. For them, police would use a control order. Control orders can already have the same rules as the orders after prison. The government says this stops doubling up and leaves one main system.

In 2023, the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor said to scrap orders that keep people in prison after their time is up. That official reviews terror laws. The government said no. It pointed to the current level of threat.

Longer control orders for teenagers

Part 3 changes control orders to suit people leaving prison.

Say a person is in prison or on an order after prison. A control order would run for 12 months from the day they get out, or the day that order ends. Today, the 12 months can start before they even get out.

Police could not ask for one more than 12 months before a person gets out. The government says this keeps the evidence fresh.

Police could also ask the court for orders about how terror material is handled during the case. That is material that urges people to carry out attacks or join terror groups.

The biggest change is for young people. Control orders on 14 to 17 year olds can now last 3 months at a time at most. The bill would raise that to 12 months, the same as adults. Children under 14 still cannot get a control order.

The court would still have to put the young person's best interests near the top of its list. It could choose a shorter order.

The government says a longer order means a teenager can stay longer in a program that helps them change.

Surveillance warrants for prisoners

Part 4 changes two laws. One is the Surveillance Devices Act 2004, the law on hidden listening and tracking devices. The other is the law on tapping phones, the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979.

Police can already get permission to bug or tap the phone of a terrorist in prison. They can do this while deciding whether to seek an order after prison. The bill would let them do the same while deciding whether to seek a control order.

The group covered is a bit wider. For example, it would include prisoners found guilty over violent extremist material.

It would not cover people who are already out. It would not cover people who never spent time in prison for a terror crime.

The current checks stay. These include checks by the federal complaints officer, called the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

More information for courts

Part 5 has two pieces. The first fills a gap in the Crimes Act 1914, a national law about crimes and punishment.

Sometimes a court finds a person guilty but does not record a conviction. This often happens with young people. Under some state laws, that person is then treated as if they were never found guilty. Federal agencies cannot mention it.

The bill would let police and courts use that finding in cases about control orders and orders after prison. But a guilty finding with no conviction would not be enough for an order by itself.

Say a 16 year old was found guilty of a weapons crime in a Queensland youth court. No conviction was recorded. Today, the national police cannot raise that when asking for a control order. Under the bill, they could.

The second piece lets state and territory agencies give facts to the national police for control order cases. States can choose not to.

Removing groups from the list

Part 6 is about the list of banned terror groups. The government can list a group if the police minister is sure it is involved in terror attacks. It can also list a group that urges people to carry out attacks.

Being a member of a listed group is a crime. So is giving it money or training with it.

The bill makes it clear that a group stays listed while it meets either test. Say a group was listed for urging attacks. Now it carries out attacks itself. It would stay on the list. It would not need to be taken off and put back on.

Today, anyone can ask to have a group taken off the list, including the group itself. The Minister must think about it. The bill would take away that right to ask.

The government says listing should depend on spy facts and risk checks.

A choice to take a group off the list would be published as a formal notice. Parliament could not vote to cancel it.

Protecting UN aid workers

Part 8 widens the crimes of harming United Nations staff. These crimes now cover United Nations peacekeepers and very high-risk missions.

The bill would add missions that bring aid, political help or help to build up a country to keep the peace. It would also add emergency aid missions.

Staff of the World Food Programme and the United Nations children's fund are examples given. The World Food Programme is the United Nations food aid agency.

This puts into law a 2005 add-on to a treaty, called the Optional Protocol. A treaty is a formal deal between countries. Australia signed it in 2006.

It would only cover acts done after the change starts.

Start date

Part 7 sets out how the changes apply. Different parts start at different times.

The longer powers would start by 6 December 2026 at the latest, so nothing runs out. Parts 2 to 7 would start on a date the government sets.

If no date is set within 6 months of the bill becoming law, those parts are cancelled. The United Nations parts would start the day after it becomes law.

The House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament, passed the bill on 20 August 2026. It went to the Senate, the other house of Parliament, the same day. It is still waiting there for debate.

It has also been sent for review to a group of MPs and senators, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

The Senate must pass it. Then the Governor-General, the King's representative, must sign it before it becomes law.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum
• Bills Digest

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