About the AFP
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is Australia’s national law enforcement agency and is tasked with investigating crimes and protecting the Commonwealth of Australia’s national security. At present, the agency sits under the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) portfolio.
Foreign threats to Australia
The threats Australia regularly faces includes hostile foreign state actors, who seek to cause harm to Australia by threatening its sovereign, security, and community. These external threats can take several forms, which the AFP discusses on both its Espionage and foreign interference web page and information factsheet.
Definitions
Espionage
Espionage is the act of collecting information with the intent of providing it to a foreign government. Espionage commonly involves the theft of state information or capabilities (such as defence, foreign relations, commerce, and more) and can harm national security and provide another country with an economic, commercial, or political advantage.
Foreign interference
Foreign interference is activity covertly carried out on behalf of a foreign government with the intent of threatening an individual or secretly attempting to undermine a country’s national interests, values, and sovereignty.
It is important to remember that foreign interference differs from foreign influence, which, as explained by the DHA, is an open and transparent attempt to “influence others in relation to issues of importance to them”.
Legislation combatting international threats
To better combat the increased challenges of foreign interference, the Australian government, in 2018, introduced the National Security Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Act 2018 (EFI Act). As stated by the AFP, the EFI Act “amended existing offences in the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) and introduced espionage-related offenses” that include supporting the intelligence gathering activities of foreign national states and engaging in threatening activities of a deceptive or covert nature with the intent of interfering in Australia’s democratic processes and systems.
The methodology of hostile foreign state actors
Hostile foreign state actors are known to have multiple reasons for undertaking their actions, utilise a wide variety of techniques to succeed in their objectives, and are known to historically target certain groups of people.
Reasons
There are numerous reasons why a foreign government would seek to interfere in Australia’s communities:
- Silence critics of the foreign government and its policies
- Monitor the offline/online activities of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) groups
- Influence the opinions of a population and promote the views/policies of the foreign government
- Obtain beneficial information
Techniques
Foreign governments may use a variety of techniques to interfere in Australia, which include:
- Digital disinformation campaigns (usually on social media platforms) aimed at discrediting groups or individuals
- Coercion through threats of physical violence
- Electronic or physical surveillance and stalking
- Kidnapping or unlawful detainment
- Blackmail
- Assault or the threat of assault
Targets
In the factsheet on foreign interference in the community, the AFP identify the following groups of people as being likely targets of foreign governments:
- Current/Former nationals residing in Australia
- Political and human rights activists
- Dissidents
- Journalists
- Political opponents
- Religious or ethnic minority groups
Reporting methods
There are several avenues available for reporting instances of foreign interference in Australia:
- The National Security Hotline (NSH), which is available 24/7 and is staffed by operators who are trained in handling sensitive reports of this nature.
The NSH can be reached by phone on 1800 123 400 and by email at hotline@nationalsecurity.gov.au
- The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety), the Australia government agency responsible for regulating online safety. Reports concerning foreign interference can be lodged on the report online harm
- The police, who have two telephone numbers available:
- 000 for immediate threats
- 13 14 44 for threats classified as non-life threatening
- The AFP Commonwealth Crime Form, which can be filled out online.
Key takeaways
In light of the very real harm that foreign interference and espionage can cause to all sectors of the Australian community, the AFP have published information designed to help identify and report threats perpetrated by hostile foreign state actors.
