Countering violent extremism

Countering violent extremism

By Countering Violent Extremism Sub-Committee – Attorney-General’s Department

The Australian Government is working with communities to build resilience to violent extremism—that is, the use or support of violence to achieve ideological, religious or political goals.

The risk that vulnerable individuals in Australia become radicalised to the point of using violence was identified as a concern in the government’s Counter-Terrorism White Paper.

In 2010, the government allocated $9.7 million over four years to tackling homegrown violent extremism. This adds to the $77 million allocated to the broader social inclusion and national security agendas.

To date, $9.7 million has enabled the creation of:

• a grants program to support local communities to counter home-grown extremism
• the Resilient Communities website showcasing how communities and the government are building resilient communities
• a research panel through which countering violent extremism research can be commissioned
• an international engagement strategy
• whole-of-government education and communication frameworks.

National approach

A Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Unit in the Attorney-General’s Department coordinates a national approach to countering violent extremism.

This approach will reduce the potential for a homegrown terrorist attack through:

• building a more resilient Australia that is less vulnerable to the processes of radicalisation
• assisting individuals to disengage from violent extremist influences.

At present, the greatest terrorist threat to Australia and Australian interests comes from people who follow a distorted and militant interpretation of Islam that calls for violence as the answer to perceived grievances.

However, the government is working to deal with all forms of violent extremism that pose a threat to our community, whether politically, religiously or racially motivated.

The CVE Unit works across Government and with state and territory governments, community organisations and peak bodies to develop evidence-based policies and projects to tackle these threats.

Working with your community

Communities are best placed to develop solutions to local problems.

Recognising this, the government has consulted widely and established the Building Community Resilience Grants program. Community groups and non-government organisations can bid for funding for proposals to prevent violent extremism in their neighbourhoods.

On 20 July 2012, the Attorney-General announced more than $1.4 million in funding for 23 innovative, practical community and academic projects that strengthen resilience in Australian communities against negative influences such as extremism or intolerance.

For more information on past and current grants, visit our Building Community Resilience Grants Program page.

For more information on how communities and the government are working together, visit the Resilient Communities website.