Australia’s Parliament has passed a law allowing the government to list foreign state entities such as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as sponsors of terrorism, after intelligence linked the group to antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
Under the Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Act 2025, the government may now designate a foreign state entity that “has engaged in, or otherwise supported or advocated for, the doing of terrorist acts targeted at Australia.”
The Criminal Code will also be expanded with new offences aimed at state sponsors of terrorism, their proxies and external supporters.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the legislation reflects Australia’s uncompromising stance on threats to its national security.
“Our first priority is the safety and protection of all Australians, which is why we have acted decisively in passing this vital legislation through the Parliament,” she said.
She added that the law “is a warning that foreign states and their supporters who seek to fuel division, create fear, erode social cohesion and perpetrate violence in the Australian community will be held to account.”
The legislation follows a hot-line press conference in August where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, flanked by Australia’s domestic spy chief, publicly said the IRGC orchestrated two arson attacks on a kosher restaurant in Sydney and a synagogue in Melbourne in 2024.
Australian domestic spy agency Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) assessed that the IRGC used a “complex web of proxies” to carry out attacks on Australian soil.
Rowland said the new law would create an environment where “it is more difficult, more risky, and more costly for malicious foreign actors to seek to cause Australia and our community harm.”
She added that law enforcement and intelligence agencies would be given enhanced powers to investigate and disrupt state-sponsored terrorism.
While the IRGC has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States since 2019, Australia’s new law marks the first time Canberra has enabled the listing of a foreign state entity under its federal terrorism framework.
Parliamentary sources said the government’s intelligence case was bolstered by “credible intelligence” linking the IRGC to extremist actions in Australia.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the law as part of broader efforts to protect democratic institutions from overseas interference.
“Foreign state-sponsored extremism does not stop at our border,” she said, adding that the legislation would help safeguard Australia’s “social cohesion and national resilience.”
Tehran dismissed the Sydney and Melbourne attacks allegations as “fabricated aims to undermine Iran.”
Australia’s Parliament passed the bill through the Senate without amendment. Legal analysts said the framework enables Canberra to impose economic and operational restrictions on listed entities and prosecute those who provide material support. The law also allows asset freezes and bans on directors or associates of designated state-sponsor entities.
