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A West Australian teenager has become the first person in Australia to be convicted and sentenced for transmitting violent extreme material online. But what does this new law signify for the justice system and lawyers operating within it?
Last week, a 19-year-old male from Western Australia became the first individual convicted and sentenced under new Commonwealth counter-terrorism laws covering social media use after pleading guilty to posting Islamic State content.
The teenager was arrested in June of last year after the Western Australia Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) received a report of “violent extremist material” being distributed on social media and encrypted messaging platforms.
The investigation conducted by the Western Australia JCTT revealed that the individual shared Islamic State-produced videos, including footage of “beheadings and audio recordings” inciting and encouraging violence.
The Western Australia JCTT, which includes the Australian Federal Police, Western Australia Police Force, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, also uncovered online conversations promoting “violence and contempt towards people based on their religious beliefs or ethnicity”.
After linking the teenager to the accounts, authorities conducted searches of his home and car in the southern suburbs, seizing a phone, a knife, and a balaclava – items that appeared in some of the extremist material that he had posted online.
On 20 March, the Perth District Court sentenced the 19-year-old to three years of imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to “one count of transmitting violent extremist material online and one count of using a carriage service to cause offence”. He will be eligible for parole on 12 May 2026.
This case marks the first conviction under the new Commonwealth counter-terrorism laws, introduced in January 2024, which criminalise the transmission of violent extremist material online in an aim to mitigate the use of social media in the radicalisation of young people.
Legal professionals within the criminal law field believe that this new offence will significantly impact the prosecution of terrorism-related crimes going forward in Australia.
Avinash Singh, principal lawyer at Astor Legal, emphasised that the man’s conviction establishes a strong deterrent precedent to the community, reinforcing that the sharing of violent extremist material online “is unacceptable” and will result in “real consequences”.
He also noted that “the court regarded this as a serious example of this type of behaviour”, as demonstrated by the imposition of a three-year sentence, with the offence carrying a maximum penalty of five years.
Justin Wong, principal and founding partner of Streeton Lawyers, expressed that the new Commonwealth counter-terrorism laws addressing social media use “complements the already existing offence of using carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence”.
However, Wong pointed out that while the law intends to target specific extremist conduct, the new offence comes with high evidentiary thresholds.
“Proof of what is violent extremist material requires a number of preconditions. These include the prosecution having to prove the material describes, depicts or supports serious violence. But also, that the material is intended to advance a political, religious or ideological cause,” Wong said.
Wong considers this to be “a relatively high bar”, and as a result, he anticipates that “the new offence will be used sparingly”.
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