Australia in February 2026: the most important developments in security
In February 2026, security news in Australia was dominated by terrorism, extremism and public safety. A stabbing attack in Sydney on 17 February left one person dead and two injured. On 24 February Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was evacuated from his official residence in Canberra because of a security threat, and the following day he was reported to have been evacuated from an event after a bomb threat that police linked to a banned Chinese dance group. Albanese then called on the country to 'turn the heat down' on public discourse. Both incidents were under investigation.
A second theme was the response to threats against religious and community groups. Police investigated a fresh threat against the country's largest mosque ahead of Ramadan, a second letter sent to a Sydney mosque, and white powder found at a mosque in Perth. At month end authorities said they had thwarted a terrorist plot targeting mosques and state institutions. A royal commission into antisemitism began work following the Bondi Beach attack, the suspect in the Hanukkah attack was seen in prison for the first time, and police armed with long rifles were to begin 24-hour patrols in certain Sydney suburbs. A man was charged with terrorism over an attack on an Invasion Day rally in Perth. Eleven Australian women linked to ISIS sought to return home.
The visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog brought protests. A man was charged over alleged death threats against him, nine people were charged after a Sydney protest, and dozens of arrests were made across the country. Sydney police were to be investigated by a watchdog over the violence.
On defense, Australia planned to spend 2.8 billion dollars on a new nuclear submarine facility and allocated funds for the first maintenance of a British nuclear submarine under AUKUS. The government said it backed recent US strikes on Iran but did not take part in the operation.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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