Australian nationalist activist group the National Socialist Network, along with co-projects White Australia, the White Australia Party and the European Australian Movement, has disbanded in response to impending new “hate groups” laws.
The groups’ leaders announced the groups would be shut down on Tuesday afternoon, just hours after the Australian government released a draft copy of its Prohibited Hate Groups legislation as part of the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026.
The new laws, drafted in response to the Bondi Islamic Terrorist attack allow the government to ban organisations who have engaged in or advocated for “hate crimes”, covers past conduct, conduct that was not illegal at the time, and does not require criminal prosecution.
Australia’s proposed new Prohibited Hate Groups laws will allow the government to ban organisations for “hate crimes” that were committed before they were illegal.
No “hate crime” needs to have actually been committed, and no conviction is required. pic.twitter.com/z4bu996wag
— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) January 13, 2026
The bill, which also includes new “hate speech” and gun law reforms, is expected to pass after being introduced to parliament on Monday, despite criticism from Christian groups and free speech advocates. It also contains exemptions for “religious texts” critics fear will allow Muslim “hate preachers” to avoid prosecution.
“The National Socialist Network will be fully disbanded before 11:59pm Sunday the 18th of January 2026. The disbandment includes not only the National Socialist Network, but its co-projects White Australia, the European Australian Movement and the White Australia Party,” the group said in a statement.
“If the laws pass, there will no way to avoid the organisation being banned. The legislation allows the government to ban any organisation that has given Roman salutes in the past.
“The disbandment is being done before the laws take effect to avoid former members of the organisations from being arrested and charged.
These are some of the most draconian laws the West has ever seen. In Australia, political freedom is effectively dead and buried. The Australian government, on behalf of the Jewish lobby, is criminalising peaceful opposition groups based on their political expression.”
Home Affairs Minister said on Monday that the laws, which were drafted in consultation with the Jewish community, were aimed at shutting down the NSN and Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which he said he had been previously unable to ban because they had not broken the law or incited violence.
“There have been organisations which have played a game for a long time in keeping themselves just below the legal threshold. They were called out last year by Mike Burgess, the Director-General of ASIO, for the real harm they do to our national security. The two groups he called out specifically were the Nazis – the National Socialist Network – and Hizb ut-Tahrir,” he said.
“Two groups which through their spreading of hate, have a direct impact on increased risk on our national security environment, but have kept themselves just below the law. For while they have created a pathway for others to engage in violence, have been careful to not explicitly call for it themselves. They’ve kept themselves just below that threshold.
“This bill will lower that threshold, and lower that threshold to the extent that we can within the Constitution. We have had enough of organisations that hate Australia, playing games with Australian law.”
Mr Albanese said the reforms would create serious offences for “hate preachers and leaders seeking to radicalise children”, increase hate crime penalties, create a new offence for “inciting hatred in order to intimidate or harass”, expand the existing prohibited symbols ban, make “extremism” a factor in sentencing, make it easier to cancel and refuse visas for “spreading hatred”, and set up the National Gun Buyback Scheme.
Once an organisation is listed as a Prohibited Hate Group, it will be a criminal offence punishable by jail terms of up to 15 years to be a member, recruit for it, donate or receive funds or support that group.
A “hate crime” as defined in the legislation covers conduct that may have been legal at the time, and groups can be banned for praising conduct, even that which takes place overseas, if the Australian government decides that conduct meets the threshold of a “hate crime”, with no criminal conviction needed.
Anglican Bishop Michael Stead, the Sydney Diocese Religious Freedom Reference Group chair, raised concerns about the “hate group” designation and Australian Christian Lobby chief executive Michelle Pearse expressed doubts about the “hate speech” elements on Monday.
“We are concerned about the proposal to create a new category of prohibited hate groups as this appears to be similar to what already exists for proscribed terrorist organisations but with a much lower bar,” Dr Stead said.
“On what basis then is someone going to be listed as a Prescribed Hate Group? All we need is the winds of social policy to change in 20 years and Christian teachings are deemed hateful and the Anglican Church is suddenly a hate group.”
The laws have also been criticised for including a religious texts exemption, with the Coalition expressing concern it could allow Islamic preachers to make anti-Semitic statements by reading from the Koran, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday justified the exemption by referring to the Old Testament of the Bible.
Other groups, including far-left party The Greens, have said the laws don’t go far enough, and want hatred based on so-called sexuality and gender included, while Muslim groups complained they were not consulted and wanted religious hared included.
Header image: Members of the National Socialist Network in Melbourne in August (supplied).
