House of Representatives on Tuesday 10th September 2019

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On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the committee's report entitled Review of the listing and re-listing of six organisations as terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

By leave—Today I present the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security's report:

the review of the listing of Islamic State Somalia and the relisting of Abu Sayyaf Group, al-Qa'ida, al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, and Jemaah Islamiyah as terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code.

We, as a committee, review regulations which list a group as a terrorist organisation for the purposes of offences under division 102 of the Criminal Code. We examine the information provided by the Australian intelligence community to the Minister for Home Affairs in support of a listing to ensure that it demonstrates that the group to be listed is:

directly or indirectly engaged in preparing, planning, assisting in or fostering the doing of terrorist acts; or

is advocating the doing of terrorist acts.

We also oversee the process by which a group has been listed to ensure it meets the requirements of the Criminal Code. The committee's review of these regulations provides additional scrutiny and assurance for the public that the listing of these groups as terrorist organisations is reasonable and necessary for national security.

This due diligence is very important because individuals who engage with terrorist organisations listed under the Criminal Code may be charged with serious offences. These offences include being a member of a terrorist organisation, recruiting on behalf of a terrorist organisation or getting funds to or from a terrorist organisation.

Our review supported the listing of the following groups as terrorist organisations as defined under the Criminal Code: Islamic State Somalia, and the relisting of Abu Sayyaf Group, al-Qa'ida, al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and Jemaah Islamiya.

We received evidence that:

Islamic State Somalia's primary objective is establishing an Islamic caliphate in the Horn of Africa, consistent with the global jihadist ideology of the proscribed terrorist organisation Islamic State. It has advocated the doing of terrorist attacks against Westerners and Western states.

Elements of Abu Sayyaf Group have pledged allegiance to Islamic State and the group has associated with other terrorist organisations such as al-Qa'ida and Jemaah Islamiya since it was founded. It has been linked to numerous large-scale attacks over the past decade, including the 27 February 2004 bombing of the Superferry in Manila harbour.

Al-Qa'ida is a Sunni Islamist extremist organisation which seeks to establish a transnational Islamic caliphate by removing, through violent means if necessary, governments in Muslim countries that it deems are un-Islamic. Al-Qa'ida in the Lands of Islamic Maghreb is an affiliate of al-Qa'ida which shares its anti-Western ideology.

Jabhat Fatah al-Sham is a Syrian based extremist group originally established to oppose the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. It has attacked individuals and groups it perceives to be supporting the regime, using improvised explosive devices, suicide attacks, snipers, small arms attacks, kidnappings and executions.

Jemaah Islamiya is a jihadist group inspired by the same ideology as al-Qa'ida, which regards the Indonesian government and other governments in the region to be illegitimate.

Our report therefore supports the listing and relisting of these organisations and finds no reason to disallow the regulations. I commend this report to the House.