Individuals convicted of lesser hate crimes, such as performing a Nazi salute, will face a minimum jail sentence of 12 months. More severe offenses related to terrorism will incur minimum sentences of six years.

“I want people who are engaged in antisemitism to be held to account, to be charged, to be incarcerated,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who had initially opposed mandatory minimum sentences for hate crimes, told Sky News.

The government’s hate crimes bill was introduced to parliament last year, establishing new offences for threats of force or violence against individuals based on various factors, including race, religion, nationality, political opinion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status.

Recently, there has been a rise in attacks on synagogues and Jewish community members’ properties, including the discovery of a caravan filled with explosives and a list of Jewish targets in Sydney.

Prime Minister Albanese has faced criticism from the centre-right opposition for being ineffective in addressing crime and the rise in antisemitism.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who introduced the amendments late Wednesday, stated that these changes represent the “toughest laws Australia has ever had against hate crimes.”

The Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2025 will help to strengthen existing offences for urging force or violence and create new offences for threatening force or violence against targeted groups and members of groups; and expand the list of groups protected by the public display of prohibited hate symbols offences.

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