Media Release – Senator Raff Ciccone, Chair of Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security
14 September 2026
Concerns are growing that Australian children are being radicalised online through video games, encrypted chats and algorithm-driven social media feeds faster and at a younger age than ever before.
Today, I am pleased to announce the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has established a public inquiry to examine how this is happening, why young people are increasingly vulnerable to radicalisation and what needs to change.
The numbers show the scale of the challenge.
Around 20 per cent of ASIO’s priority counter-terrorism cases now involve young people, while participation in Australia’s countering violent extremism programs has risen almost 18 per cent in six months, from 253 to 298 people.
Nine in ten Australian households play video games and research shows 40 per cent of children who play online games have played with strangers, with more than a quarter chatting to people they don’t know outside the game.
It’s a warning every parent should hear. Security and law enforcement agencies have warned that radicalisation that used to take months or years is now happening in weeks. Increasingly, this is happening to children and through encrypted chat rooms.
International research tells a similar story. Studies by the Global Network on Extremism and Technology have documented far-right and jihadist content reaching children as young as nine on gaming platforms. Last year, Europol coordinated a joint operation across eight countries that identified thousands of extremist links on gaming and gaming-adjacent platforms.
The Albanese Government has taken decisive action to address this threat, including $74 million over two years – on top of $106.2 million already committed under the Safer Australia strategy – for the new Counter-Terrorism Online Centre, run jointly by the AFP and ASIO.
Since counter-terrorism laws prohibiting hate symbols and other measures took effect in 2024, 31 people have been charged with violent extremist material offences, 19 of them aged 17 or under.
The Government has responded to individual incidents as they’ve occurred, but understanding the changing patterns of radicalisation in Australia will be a focus of this parliamentary inquiry.
Quotes attributable to Chair of the PJCIS, Senator Raff Ciccone:
“My own child isn’t old enough yet to play these games. But that day isn’t far off and it’s already on my mind as a parent.
“This is happening in kids’ bedrooms, not somewhere on the nightly news. Most parents have no idea how quickly radicalisation can happen, or how ordinary the starting point can look – and that has to change.
“As a parent, I find it deeply concerning that a child could be exposed to extremist content, radicalised or groomed through something as ordinary as playing a game, chatting online or watching videos.
“That’s why I pushed for this inquiry. Understanding the drivers and pathways of radicalisation in Australia is one of the most pressing national security questions we face, particularly how technology and online platforms are drawing people, including children, into extremist thinking.
“The PJCIS will examine these pathways, including the role of technology, algorithms and platform obligations, complementing rather than duplicating the important work already underway elsewhere.”
The PJCIS will report by 22 March 2027. Further details on the inquiry are available on the Committee’s website: aph.gov.au/pjcis
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