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Although Australia is a safe country, terrorist attacks are possible and we need to do what we can both to prevent and prepare for them.
What you do matters in an attack and the three words you need to remember are ESCAPE. HIDE. TELL.
- ESCAPE – move quickly and quietly away from danger
- If you can’t escape, HIDE – stay out of sight and silence your phones
- TELL – call the police by dialling Triple Zero when it is safe
Minimising the risk
In 2017 the Australia's Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism was released with the objective of protecting the lives of people working in, using and visiting crowded places by making these places more resilient to terrorism.
It is important to regularly review your security, emergency and business continuity plans. Identifying potential targets for terrorist attack is not precise but there are things that you can do to minimise the risk.
What is a Crowded Place?
Crowded places are locations which are easily accessible by large numbers of people on a predictable basis.
A crowded place will not necessarily be crowded at all times: crowd densities may vary between day and night, by season, and may be temporary, as in the case of sporting events, festivals, or one-off events.
Crowded places include, but are not limited to, sports stadiums, transport infrastructure, shopping centres, pubs, clubs, hotels, places of worship, tourist attractions, movie theatres, and civic spaces. Crowded places do not have to be buildings and can include open spaces such as parks and pedestrian malls.
Self-assessment tool and audit
If you are the owner or operator of a place in the Australian Capital Territory where large groups of people gather, the crowded places self assessment tool can help you understand how attractive your location or venue may be for a terrorist attack.
There is also a crowded places Security Audit available which highlights a range of possible security issues.
Please contact ACT Policing’s Crowded Place team for information and advice about crowded places or the self-assessment tool.
Phone: (02) 51266519 or email crowdedplaces@afp.gov.au.
For more information visit the Australian National Security website
Frequently asked questions
The Crowded Places Security Audit has not been designed to fully address cyber security issues. Further, the Audit does not fully address issues and mitigation strategies in regards to improvised explosive devices, active armed offenders and hostile vehicle attacks.
However, you may seek further advice via ASIO Outreach.
No. The Self-Assessment is a self-perspective security evaluation of a site, event or venue. The Security Audit is a guide to provide you as the owner/operator with a prompt to identify and address any security or mitigation gaps in a proportionate manner
The information provided in the Self-Assessment and Security Audit is intended to be used as general guidance material only and is not provided for any other purpose. In particular, it is not intended to provide comprehensive advice. Organisations or individuals using or relying upon the information contained in these documents should do so in conjunction with their own judgement and assessment of the information in light of their particular needs and circumstances.
This means that you should contact your jurisdictional policing organisation for further discussions in relation to your score. These discussions are not about lowering your score or re-conducting the self-assessment but discussing hazard specific management strategies and improvements that may assist your site, venue or event regarding mitigation from a terrorist attack.
A score of 39 or less does not indicate that your site, venue or event is safe from a terrorist attack. It simply indicates that some of the common potential risk variables when looking at your site, venue or event have scored in a lower bracket. Remember, the Self-Assessment Tool is not an exhaustive list, and each site, venue or event will have specific differences and risks. A licenced, independent and suitable qualified security provider that can assist with risk assessments should still be engaged to enhance your emergency management plans.
Further, you can still contact your jurisdictional police service for any questions you may have or risk strategies you wish to discuss.
All owners and operators of Crowded Places have the primary responsibility for protecting their sites, including a duty of care to take steps to protect people that work, use or visit their site from a range of foreseeable threats, including the threat of a terrorist attack. Owners and operators have a responsibility to conduct a risk assessment and/or vulnerability assessment of their site.
State and territory police are responsible for providing threat information to owners and operators of Crowded Places. This includes material developed by the states and territories, Commonwealth agencies, police and overseas partners. Police provide specific information on the local threat context to help owners and operators develop appropriate protective security measures. State and territory police may also provide protective security guidance in some (limited) instances.
Planning considerations: Police can discuss with you a number of factors relevant to event planning to consider when developing protective security options to address terrorism vulnerabilities at events.
Event procedures: Police can discuss with you terrorist attack mitigations that may assist in the detection, deterrence, delay and response to an active armed offender, basic weapons, explosive attack both from a person and vehicles.
Further, discussion can also be explored in relation to:
- Soft vehicle access restrictions
- Authorised vehicle access restrictions
- Re-deployable vehicle barriers
- Detecting & responding to suspicious vehicle
- Hostile reconnaissance and surveillance
- Patron search and screening
- Managing delivers
- Waste management
- Venue search and inspections, and
- Policing response
National Security Hotline
The nature of terrorism is changing, with callers to the National Security Hotline providing information on suspicious activities (eg, purchase of bomb making equipment and ingredients), suspicious travel planning, reports from people concerned that someone they know is becoming radicalised towards violent extremism, and the use of websites or social media platforms promoting violent extremist ideology.
If you wish to report suspicious activity, you can contact the National Security Hotline in the following ways:
Call: 1800 1234 00
From outside Australia: (+61) 1300 1234 01
Email: hotline@nationalsecurity.gov.au
SMS: 0498 562 549
TTY: 1800 234 889
If you need an interpreter, call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and ask them to call the National Security Hotline on 1800 1234 00.
All calls are taken seriously and in confidence.
The National Terrorism Threat Level
The National Terrorism Threat Level is a scale of five levels that tells the public about the likelihood of an act of terrorism occurring in Australia.
It enables authorities, businesses and individuals to take appropriate measures for their own safety and security as well as that of their family, friends and associates.
The Australian Government regularly reviews the threat level and our security environment. When the government makes a change to the National Terrorism Threat Level it will explain why there is a change.
Information on the current threat level.
How you can report suspicious activity
The National Security Hotline is the single point of contact for the public to report possible signs of terrorism. Every piece of information is treated seriously, as it could be vital in preventing a terrorist act.
The hotline also provides information to callers on a wide range of national security matters.
If you see anything suspicious, report it to the National Security Hotline on 1800 1234 00.