Key Facts

• The Australian Federal Police said 32 of the 37 young people prosecuted in counter-terrorism cases since 2020 were charged in the past two years.
• In a review of 55 youth terrorism cases, the AFP found a mixed profile; many were young men, and many had received support or intervention for a mental health condition.
• Two teenagers in Darwin were charged in the past month with collecting documents that could facilitate terrorism.
• The AFP said material and online discussions found during an examination in one Darwin case included praise for mass-casualty school attacks.
• A teenager in the Northern Territory was charged five months earlier over posts with pro-Nazi, anti-immigration, anti-trans and white nationalist themes, and possession of videos of terrorist attacks.
• Experts say the age of young people involved in extremism cases has fallen over the past decade.
• A New South Wales teenager said he first encountered violent extremist content on TikTok at age 14 and later used ChatGPT to research a bomber and security arrangements; he received a three-year community corrections order.
• The article describes online spaces, including Telegram gore channels, where users trade increasingly extreme footage and may pressure others into violence or self-harm.