Australian police warn inquiry that online youth radicalisation can take days

The Australian Federal Police warned a parliamentary inquiry on 21 October 2026 that young people in Australia can be radicalised online within days, a process it said once took months or years. Acting deputy commissioner Sandra Booth linked the speed to artificial intelligence and sophisticated online networks, raising questions about how police can intervene earlier.

Booth told the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security that AI was lowering the skills needed to manipulate and radicalise people online, The Guardian reported. She also cited young people seeking purpose and belonging and what she called a growing grievance generation. Those are the AFP’s assessments of what is driving the threat.

Children in federal police operations

ASIO deputy director general Claire McGuinness told the inquiry that the intelligence agency was encountering more children, including 12-year-olds. About 20 years ago, its caseload consisted predominantly of people in their early 20s, she said, according to The Guardian.

Booth cited an investigation involving a 13-year-old boy who police alleged possessed violent extremist material. Officers alleged they found a notebook containing plans for a school shooting during a raid on his home. ABC News reported that the boy was charged; the alleged plans are not a finding of guilt.

Police consider disrupting online groups

Booth said the AFP was considering proposing expanded powers to intervene more openly in harmful online chat groups. One possibility she described was posting messages that alert participants to a police presence, instead of only monitoring extremist exchanges covertly. No decision to grant those powers was reported.

Home Affairs counterterrorism coordinator Brendan Dowling told the inquiry that most referrals to deradicalisation programs came from law enforcement. He said this suggested authorities were identifying people too late, after they had already come to police attention. The committee’s final report is due in March 2027, The Guardian reported.