‘White Australia’ neo-Nazi group banned
It is now a criminal offence to support, fund, train, recruit for, join or direct the organisation
The federal government has listed the neo-Nazi group ‘White Australia’, previously known as the National Socialist Network, as a prohibited hate group under the Criminal Code.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced on Friday it is now a criminal offence to support, fund, train, recruit for, join or direct the organisation.
The listing is the second under the prohibited hate group framework introduced on January 20, 2026, which enables the Governor-General, on advice from the Australian Federal Police Minister, to list groups that promote violence or hatred.
“Members of ‘White Australia’ try to hide their identities in public, but nothing will shield these individuals from consequence if they continue their campaign against modern Australia,” Burke said.
“This listing sends the message that there is no place for racial supremacy in Australia. We are a country that judges people because of who they are, not where they come from.”
The prohibited hate group listing framework is part of the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026, which strengthened hate crime laws following the December 14, 2025 Bondi Beach massacre.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said the ECAJ had been calling for the measure since 2021.
“We told a parliamentary committee at the time that groups like NSN were operating at a level just below the threshold required to list them as a terrorist organisation, but were using social media in the same way as terrorist groups to groom and recruit impressionable young men to join them,” Wertheim said.
“It doesn’t matter what they call themselves, or how they structure themselves, these groups use all the well known techniques of thuggery and menace that Nazis have always used against Jewish communities and other groups they have targeted.”
Wertheim said the announcement was welcome and would send a much-needed message that “these groups and their hateful, racist ideology has no place in Australia”.
Burke said specifying ‘White Australia’ as a prohibited hate group sends a strong message that Australia will not tolerate organisations that amplify the spread of hatred, normalise extremist rhetoric and provide a platform for radicalisation.
“The Albanese Government believes everyone in Australia has a right to be safe and feel safe. We will continue to take the strongest possible action against people who seek to deny Australians that freedom,” Burke said.
The minister encouraged anyone who experiences or witnesses a hate crime to report it to law enforcement.
“Reporting is essential to ensure these crimes can be dealt with by law enforcement if they meet the criminal threshold. It also provides information to law enforcement to understand patterns of behaviour in local areas, so they can create a safer community for everyone,” he said.