Our Plan to Make Communities Safer

Labor’s incompetence has put Australians at risk, undermining community safety and border protection.

Crime and hate have spread across many parts of our communities. At our universities, places of worship and on the streets, antisemitism and extremism are out of control.

Labor has watered down Operation Sovereign Borders and failed to deliver maritime surveillance, allowing people smugglers to bring people on to our shores undetected.

More than 300 serious criminals have been released from immigration detention into the community under Labor – more than a third have reoffended against innocent Australians.

Labor granted thousands of visas to people from some of the most dangerous parts of the world before undertaking adequate background and security checks.

Australia needs leadership and strength to tackle these problems, yet under Labor, Australia is heading in the wrong direction.

Anthony Albanese is too weak – and Labor is too incompetent – to fix the problems facing our country.

The Coalition believes that the safety and security of our nation and the communities we live in are the first responsibility of government.

We believe that Australia needs strong and secure borders to ensure that anyone entering our country is doing so legally, and we expect people coming here to respect the values of our democratic society.

We believe that community safety is a core part of our national security, and our security agencies must be given the resources and powers they need to protect Australians.

We believe it is the government’s responsibility to foster national unity by standing firmly against extremism and promoting harmony and tolerance in our society.

We believe that strong and decisive action must be taken to keep Australians safe.

Only a Dutton Coalition Government can be trusted to protect our sovereignty and our borders, our democracy and our way of life.

A Dutton Coalition Government will crack down on crime from the border to the backyard by launching Operation Safer Communities, which will invest over $750 million through a comprehensive national package.

We will:

Establish a National Drug Enforcement and Organised Crime Strike Team backed by $355 million in additional resourcing to ensure the scourge of illicit drugs can be dealt with by law enforcement agencies at a national level.
Provide $7.5 million over three years in additional funding to Crime Stoppers to expand its operations and protect Australians from the impacts of crime in local communities.
Double funding for the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation.
Introduce national ‘post and boast’ laws to make it illegal to post social media material glamourising involvement in criminal activity and ban offenders from using social media for up to two years.
Work with jurisdictions to standardise knife crime laws based on Jack’s Law, and fund a national roll-out of detector wands to empower police to get weapons off our streets.
Restore the Safer Communities Fund to support local projects to improve social cohesion and secure our communities.
Introduce tough new laws to disrupt organised criminal syndicates, including by streamlining and enhancing proceeds of crime and unexplained wealth laws, and harmonising national drug laws to close gaps and improve cross-border police cooperation.
Crack down on corruption and organised crime in the construction industry by establishing an Australian Federal Police-led taskforce bringing together Commonwealth agencies and state and territory police.
Restore Operation Sovereign Borders in full to the tried and tested settings established by the Coalition to stop people smuggling and secure our borders.
Crack down on the importation and distribution of date-rape drugs used in drink-spiking incidents.
Upgrade Australia’s screening and detection capabilities to intercept drugs at the border before they make it into our communities.
Reintroduce fast-track processes for visa appeals to address bad actors overstaying their visas and exploiting the system to stay in Australia.
Take real action to address the evil of antisemitism, including by creating a new, dedicated antisemitism taskforce led by the AFP and bringing together Commonwealth agencies and state and territory police.
Protect our children from emerging threats to their safety and wellbeing online and equip parents and children with the awareness and tools they need to keep children safe, including investing $6 million to support online safety education.
Pilot a National Child Sex Offenders Disclosure Scheme to protect our children and provide more information to parents about the risks in their communities and the precautions they need to take.

A Dutton Coalition Government will take the strong and decisive action required to keep our communities safe and get Australia back on track.

Our Plan

1. Secure our borders

Australians are less safe because of Labor’s failure to secure our borders and manage our immigration system.

Shortly after coming into office, Labor introduced Ministerial Direction 99, which softened Australia’s visa cancellation policy and led to dozens of serious offenders having their visa cancellations overturned. As a result, more than 160 dangerous criminals avoided deportation.

Labor’s hopeless response to the NZYQ High Court decision has put Australians at risk and cost the taxpayer more than $100 million. Labor has released more than 300 dangerous criminals from immigration detention into the community, including murderers, rapists, child sex offenders and violent criminals. More than a third of these criminals have since reoffended against Australians.

Labor has repeatedly undermined the Coalition’s highly successful Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) framework by abolishing the use of temporary protection visas and overseeing a 21% decrease in aerial flying hours and a 16% fall in maritime patrol days in 2023-24 compared to 2020-21 levels. It is no wonder that Labor has lost control of our borders.

More than 500 illegal maritime arrivals have made the journey to Australia on at least 27 illegal ventures since Labor was elected in May 2022.

The Coalition will clean up Labor’s mess by restoring order to our border security and immigration system.

Only the Coalition can be trusted to keep Australians safe.

A Dutton Coalition Government will:

Immediately cancel the visas of criminal non-citizens who pose a risk to the Australian community.
Restore Operation Sovereign Borders in full to the tried and tested settings established by the Coalition.
Restore the processes in place prior to the commencement of Labor’s disastrous Direction 99 to ensure community safety is the absolute priority in visa cancellation and refusal decisions.
Prosecute people smugglers and illegal fishers who test our borders.
Reintroduce fast-track processes for visa appeals to address bad actors overstaying their visas and exploiting the system to stay in Australia.

2. Tackle the antisemitism crisis

Australia is facing a crisis of antisemitism. A series of appalling incidents of vandalism and public displays of support for terrorists has shocked Australia and left the Jewish community feeling under siege and abandoned by Labor.

We have seen a shocking campaign of terror across our country as cars and homes have been vandalised. We have seen a childcare centre set alight and graffitied with antisemitic messages. We have seen a synagogue in Melbourne torched, causing millions in damages and striking fear in the hearts of our communities.

It is more important than ever that we show solidarity with the Jewish community, but this government has let Jewish Australians down.

Where Anthony Albanese has shown weakness and equivocation, a Dutton Coalition Government will show strength and act.

We will take the strong action required to end the vile antisemitism afflicting our country which has festered for too long and which threatens the safety of our communities.

A Dutton Coalition Government will:

Create a new, dedicated antisemitism taskforce led by the AFP, bringing together Commonwealth agencies and state and territory police. We will direct the taskforce to investigate unsolved crimes against the Jewish community, and refer any visa holders involved in acts of antisemitism for immediate cancellation and deportation.
Establish a judicial inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities.
Provide $35 million to assist with the rebuilding of the Adass Israel Synagogue following the horrific arson attack in December 2024.
Deliver the $32.5 million security funding package requested by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, including funding armed guards at schools and synagogues.
Provide $19 million to Australian Holocaust museums to support their expansion and to commemorate the victims of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. This funding consists of:
- $8.5 million for the Sydney Jewish Museum;
- $3.5 million for Queensland Holocaust Museum;
- $2 million for the Holocaust Institute of Western Australia’s Education Centre; and
- $5 million for specific October 7 commemorations and exhibits more generally.
Develop changes to the Australian Citizen Test to address the issue of antisemitism.

3. Restore law and order

Australian communities are less safe under Labor. Drug use in our communities is fuelling a cycle of violence, theft and youth crime.

The AFP has highlighted that organised crime groups use the mail and parcel post system to import illicit drugs in combination with their other import streams, and combined, they equate to millions in individual street deals that cause significant harm to the community.

There have been more than 130 firebombings linked to the tobacco war across Victoria. Australian suburbs have borne the cost as rival gangs have caused millions of dollars in damages and endangered our communities as the illicit tobacco trade has boomed under Labor’s watch.

A Coalition Government will respond to these threats at every level, dismantling the criminal networks who import and manufacture illicit drugs, chemicals and firearms, and who launder their ill-gotten gains through law-abiding communities.

A Dutton Coalition Government will:

Establish a National Drug Enforcement and Organised Crime Strike Team backed by $355 million in additional resourcing to ensure the scourge of illicit drugs can be dealt with by law enforcement agencies at a national level. We will put dedicated Australian Federal Police teams in each state and territory led by a national leadership group, and supported by specialist financial investigative and prosecutorial teams.
Upgrade Australia’s screening and detection capabilities to intercept drugs at the border before they make it into our communities.
Crack down on the importation and distribution of date-rape drugs used in drink-spiking incidents.
Work with states and territories to develop uniform knife laws across all jurisdictions, including:
- laws which give police the powers to stop and search using detector wands – like Queensland’s ‘Jack’s Law’; and
- laws which limit and restrict the sale and possession of knives to minors and dangerous individuals.
Fund a national rollout of detector wands to empower police to get weapons off our streets.
Introduce national ‘post and boast’ laws to make it illegal to post social media material glamourising involvement in criminal activity.
Introduce new offences that will allow police to target groups that engage in a pattern of criminal behaviour, based on the highly effective mafia takedown laws in the US.
Crack down on corruption and organised crime in the construction industry by establishing an Australian Federal Police-led taskforce bringing together Commonwealth agencies and state and territory police.
Provide $7.5 million over three years in additional funding to Crime Stoppers to expand its operations and protect more Australians from the devastating impact of crime in local communities.
Restore the Safer Communities Fund to support local projects to improve social cohesion and secure our communities, and deliver $65 million of commitments making local communities safer and more connected.

4. Protect our children

There is nothing more important than the safety of our children. Peter Dutton has spent decades working to protect women and children, including by establishing the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. The Coalition has also led the national debate on restricting social media for children under the age of 16.

The Coalition will continue to do whatever it takes to protect our children from harm.

A Dutton Coalition Government will:

Upgrade our law enforcement and intelligence strike capabilities against sexual predators online and in our communities, including by doubling the funding of the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation to remove children from harm.
Pilot a National Child Sex Offenders Disclosure Scheme modelled on the UK and Western Australian systems, which will allow the public to request information from the police about whether an individual who interacts with their children is a convicted sex offender.
Protect our children from emerging threats to their safety and wellbeing online, including implementing an age limit of 16 for social media.
Provide $6 million to the Alannah & Madeline Foundation to keep our children safe from online harm.

The Choice

Under Labor, Australian communities are less safe and less protected.

The Albanese Labor Government has dodged its responsibility to show federal leadership to stamp out the crime and illicit drugs ravaging our communities.

There have been more than 130 firebombings linked to the tobacco war across Victoria. Rival gangs have caused millions of dollars in damages and endangered our communities as the illicit tobacco trade has boomed on Labor’s watch.

Australia’s suburbs are under siege from common criminals, with more than 1.3 million households falling victim to common crimes last year – including almost 300,000 households experiencing a break-in or stolen vehicle.

Break-ins, burglaries and arson attacks drive up the costs of insurance premiums for homes and businesses. Insurance costs have increased by around 35 per cent under the Albanese Labor government.

This government also weakened our immigration system and released hundreds of dangerous criminals into our communities. And instead of following the proper process, Labor issued thousands of tourist visas to people from Gaza – a war zone controlled by a terrorist group – before conducting proper security checks.

A Dutton Coalition Government will strengthen our immigration system to cancel the visas of violent criminals and keep them off our streets. We will restore the processes in place prior to the commencement of Labor’s disastrous Direction 99 to prioritise the safety of the Australian community above all else. And we will ensure sufficient security checks are undertaken for anyone seeking to enter Australia.

Labor has been consistently weak on crime. The Coalition committed a year ago to introduce tough new laws, with jail terms of up to two years, for posting social media material that glamourises violence and criminal activity. The Albanese Government failed to support these laws when we introduced legislation, despite continuing evidence of this shocking conduct. A Dutton Government will legislate to ensure we introduce these tough national laws to help stamp out these crimes.

A Dutton Coalition Government will tackle crime from the border to the backyard by launching Operation Safer Communities, which will invest over $750 million through a comprehensive national package.

We will seize criminal assets and proceeds of crime at an unprecedented scale, and reinvest this money to help communities impacted by crime.

The choice has never been clearer.

Instead of buck-passing and handwringing, we will provide much needed federal leadership and resourcing to our law enforcement and security agencies.

Instead of allowing high-risk offenders back into the Australian community, we will not hesitate to cancel visas and deport dangerous criminals.

And we will be unapologetically focused on protecting the community and cracking down on crime.

Only a Dutton Coalition Government can be trusted to keep Australians safe and get our country back on track.