The Australian Federal Police (AFP) reported a significant rise in threats and harassment directed at politicians over the past year, but relatively few cases have resulted in criminal convictions or jail sentences. The issue has prompted concern about a potential disconnect between the severity of offences and the penalties imposed by the courts.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett revealed on Wednesday that the national security investigations team handled about one charge per week related to threats made against parliamentarians and high-ranking officeholders. Despite the increase in charges and warnings about a growing threat of politically motivated violence, many offenders receive community-based penalties rather than prison terms.
In the last financial year, the AFP recorded 1,067 incidents involving harassing, offensive, or threatening conduct toward politicians, reflecting a 92 percent increase since 2020. Since October 2025, authorities have charged 41 individuals, although not all reports meet the threshold for criminal offences or result in charges.
Analysis of court decisions dating from 2022 to present shows that most convicted offenders received non-custodial sentences, such as good behaviour bonds, community corrections orders, and fines up to $5,000. Calls for tougher judicial responses have intensified following several high-profile incidents, including the assault of MP Helen Haines, who was struck by a car outside her electorate office earlier this week.
Former Labor senator-turned-independent Fatima Payman reported receiving more than 100 threats, many referred to police. While some cases have reached court, none have resulted in imprisonment so far. Six remain under legal consideration. Senator Payman recently was told she should be “guillotined,” and her staff received a graphic and offensive email containing a photo of human faeces. She advocates for reforms requiring perpetrators to issue public apologies, aiming to curb the normalization of such threatening behaviour.
Under current law, the maximum penalty for threatening a public official is seven years in prison. John Coyne, national security programs director at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, described the existing sentencing regime as inadequate to deter threats, warning that they undermine democratic processes and free speech.
Threats to officials are prosecuted under both state and federal laws, but many reports do not meet criminal standards, which partly explains the disparity between the number of reports and charges laid.
Recent cases illustrate the range of penalties applied. Last week, a 44-year-old man in Sydney received a two-year community corrections order and a $1,000 fine for making repeated threatening calls. Another Sydney man was handed a 14-month order last month after pleading guilty to threatening a federal politician. Similar fines and community sentences were given to others in New South Wales, including a Queanbeyan man convicted of threatening a federal MP and possessing prohibited weapons, who avoided a correctional order.
The harshest sentence reported involved a 57-year-old Queensland man sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to threatening a federal parliamentarian.
Some cases have ended without convictions. For example, Victoria Police dropped charges against an 18-year-old woman accused of vandalizing the electorate office of Labor MP Josh Burns, a prominent Jewish parliamentarian.
While sentencing decisions remain the judiciary’s responsibility, the AFP emphasized that all reports are taken seriously. Commissioner Barrett highlighted growing concern among law enforcement agencies over the increasing volume of threatening conduct online and offline targeting public officials.