Hate crimes and association with prohibited hate groups as grounds for refusing and cancelling migration and citizenship
/Following from the tragedy of the Bondi terror attack on 14 December 2025, Federal Parliament has passed amendments to migration and citizenship laws that can see visa holders have their visas cancelled or refused if their behaviour spreads hate and division in Australia, or would do so if they were allowed to enter or remain in Australia.
The Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026 (Cth) is a comprehensive package of reforms.
These reforms to migration may be retroactive if the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship creates a rule to facilitate this.
Aside from adding new offences and increasing penalties for offences against the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) (‘the Code’) and adding aggravated sentencing factors to the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), several key definitions were introduced. Two important ones that relate to migration are:
hate crime – which is conduct that urges, threatens offences or causes violence or serious harm against groups or members of groups, where that group is distinguished by race or national or ethnic origin, or publicly displaying prohibited symbols and giving the Nazi salute.
prohibited hate group – which is an organisation that has engaged in, prepared or planned to engage in, or assisted the engagement in conduct constituting a hate crime, or has advocated, whether or not in Australia, engaging in conduct constituting a hate crime.
The Australian Federal Police Minister may make recommendations to specify an organisation as a prohibited hate group, and organisations may be delisted.
These definitions are referenced in the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (‘the Act’) and Migration Regulations 1998 (Cth) (‘the Regulations’).
Sections 500A and 501 of the Act allows the Minister the discretion to refuse or cancel a visa when they reasonably suspect that the person:
is, or has been, a member of an organisation that was (at any time the person was a member of the organisation) a terrorist organisation, state sponsor of terrorism or prohibited hate group,
has, or has had, an association with an organisation that was (at any time during the person’s association) a terrorist organisation, state sponsor of terrorism or prohibited hate group and their intention by association was to support terrorism, extremism or hatred,
has been or is involved in conduct constituting a hate crime,
has made or endorsed one or more public statements (in Australia or overseas), including online, or has encouraged one or more persons to make such a statement, that involves the dissemination of ideas based on superiority over or hatred of other persons on the basis of race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, and the person’s conduct may give rise to a risk of harm to the Australian community or a segment of the Australian community.
The Regulations are amended so that Special Return Criterion 5001 will permanently exclude a person being granted a visa if refused a visa under section 501, 501A or 501B of the Act unless the refusal has been revoked or the Minister has personally granted a permanent visa to that person. This captures those whose visa was refused or cancelled on the new grounds described above.
The Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) is also amended so that the Minister must not approve a person to become an Australian citizen if the person has been convicted of a national security offence unless they are not a national or citizen of any country. This includes reference to the new Part 5.B of the Code, which are offences relating to a prohibited hate group, including:
Directing its activities,
Being a member of a prohibited hate group
Recruiting for a prohibited hate group,
Training involving a prohibited hate group,
Getting funds to, from or for a prohibited hate group, and
Providing support to a prohibited hate group.
These amendments make explicit what could arguably be existing powers available to refuse or cancel a visa because a visa holder was associated with a group that has been or involved in criminal conduct or when the visa holder’s presence in Australia may or might pose a risk to the safety of the Australian community, a segment of the Australian community, or an individual or individuals.