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2026

Government’s response Islamophobia

2026 · 10 other eventsSee the year ↓28 January 2026Imams council demands end to ‘radical Islam’ wording after Morrison’s reform callClick to read →9 February 2026The Herzog ProtestsClick to read →24 February – 26 August 2026Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion – hearingsClick to read →1 March 2026Mosque Vigils for Ayatollah Ali KhameneiOpen full page →5 March 2026Hizb ut-Tahrir listed as a prohibited hate groupClick to read →20 March 2026Albanese and Burke Lakemba MosqueOpen full page →31 March – 5 April 2026Two preachers’ visas cancelled over antisemitic remarksClick to read →May 2026ISIS Brides return to AustraliaClick to read →May 2026“ABC Misinformation Report” dossier publishedClick to read →September 2026ASIO chief: Islamic extremism is about 70% of caseload; 16 plots stopped since BondiClick to read →You are hereJanMarMayJulSepNovDec
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Introduction

On 18 July 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the Australian Government's response to the report of Australia's Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, Aftab Malik. Malik had delivered his report, A National Response to Islamophobia: A Strategic Framework for Inclusion, Safety and Prosperity, on 12 September 2025, containing 54 recommendations following what his office described as hundreds of hours of consultation with Muslim communities, leaders and Australian and international experts.

The response came almost ten months after the report was released. Before the announcement, Malik had publicly urged the government to act, warning in May 2026 that it should not wait for another Christchurch-style attack before responding. The government said the delay reflected consultation and coordination across portfolios, and that some of the recommended measures were already underway.

Albanese said Islamophobia had "no place in Australia" and described the government's response as practical action intended to keep communities safe and strengthen social cohesion. The response was organised around four themes identified by Malik: education and awareness; protection and support; building social cohesion; and accountability and responsibility.

The government said it was accepting 35 of the 54 recommendations, but it did not publish a numbered list showing which 35. The government response instead describes a series of measures under the four themes, so working out which recommendation each measure corresponds to means comparing the two documents. ABC and SBS reported the government's position as acceptance of 35 of 54 recommendations.

Malik's report was not a general statement of support for Muslim communities. Its recommendations included proposals concerning Australia's discrimination laws, counter-terrorism laws, inquiries into Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism, parliamentary conduct, education, policing, mental health and the collection of data on Islamophobic incidents.

The government accepted a substantial package of measures, while some of the report's legal and policy recommendations were left unresolved or rejected.

Government Response

The government's response committed to an Islamophobia Education Taskforce, involving state and territory education authorities, agencies and departments. It also announced a continuing Social Cohesion Education Advisory Council, a review of the Australian Curriculum to identify opportunities to strengthen racial and religious tolerance, and a Social Cohesion Framework for schools addressing Islamophobia and racism.

The government also committed to training and professional-development resources for parliamentarians, their staff and Australian Public Service employees. The Australian Federal Police is to undertake a stocktake of existing anti-racism and cultural-sensitivity training, with a view to developing resources focused on religious sensitivity.

A new Australian Muslim Affairs research institute is also part of the package. The government says it will support research into the nature, impacts and gendered dimensions of Islamophobia, as well as cultural and educational initiatives concerning Muslim history and identity. Funding will also support young Muslim creatives and programs intended to promote cross-cultural understanding.

The response includes measures dealing with mental health and community resilience. The government says Primary Health Networks will receive targeted support for Muslim community organisations, and that work will begin on an Islamophobia-related trauma protocol for mental-health services. New multicultural grants are directed towards culturally appropriate mental-health services, leadership and advocacy, Muslim women's economic participation and leadership, and youth development.

The government also points to $41.9 million already allocated across initiatives intended to improve security at Muslim faith-based places, foster social cohesion and meet the needs of Australian Palestinian, Muslim and Arab communities. It says an Australian Research Council project is conducting Australia's first longitudinal study of Islamophobia and its social, economic, educational and mental-health impacts.

On policing, the government announced an expansion of Australian Federal Police Community Liaison teams and a communications portal intended to provide information to communities affected by hate crime and improve awareness of reporting mechanisms. It also committed to finalising an AFP Social Cohesion Consultative Board involving community leaders, young people and non-government organisations.

The response also includes funding for sporting and community activities, an additional $2.6 million over four years for the Office for Multicultural Affairs to deliver measures combating Islamophobia, and additional mental-health support. The government's document says the Program of Assistance for Survivors of Torture and Trauma and targeted Primary Health Networks are receiving an additional $6 million for mental-health and wellbeing support.

Some of Malik's central legal recommendations were not adopted.

The government did not agree to overhaul Australia's counter-terrorism framework in response to Malik's concerns that reliance on ideological, political or religious motivation could produce discriminatory effects. Asked about the issue, Albanese said the government operates its terrorism laws on advice from national-security agencies and that he had confidence in that advice.

Malik had separately argued in a June 2026 submission to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion for changes to the definition of a terrorist act to reduce reliance on ideological, political or religious motivation as a central criterion. The government did not adopt that proposal in its Islamophobia response.

The government also did not establish the proposed commission of inquiry into anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism. Instead, it pointed to the longitudinal Australian Research Council study of Islamophobia and said it would consider how the study's findings could be analysed, including their gendered impacts.

The response also did not introduce the stronger and more specific legal protections for Muslims that Malik sought. The government said it would continue to ensure that legislative settings remained fit for purpose and provided effective protections for all Australians, including Muslim communities. It noted that the Standing Council of Attorneys-General had considered coordinated responses to vilification, including Islamophobia and antisemitism, but left the legislative framework under ongoing consideration.

The government drew a line between measures it could implement through programs, education, funding, policing and community engagement, and recommendations that would require changes to legislation or national-security policy.

Albanese made that distinction explicit. He said Malik's report was independent advice and that government could not "contract out" its decision-making responsibilities.

Summary

The Albanese Government accepted 35 of the 54 recommendations contained in Aftab Malik's report, according to the Prime Minister and subsequent reporting. The measures accepted or advanced include education initiatives, curriculum review, parliamentary and public-service training, multicultural grants, Muslim women's and youth programs, mental-health support, an Australian Muslim Affairs research institute, improved hate-incident reporting, expanded AFP community liaison and social-cohesion structures, and additional support for Muslim institutions and communities.

The government did not accept the report in full.

Among the recommendations it did not adopt were proposals connected to counter-terrorism law, stronger legal protections concerning religious discrimination, and a commission of inquiry into anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism.

Instead, the government relied on existing legislative frameworks, national-security advice and research programs.

The Special Envoy welcomed substantial parts of the response but made clear that he regarded the process as unfinished. Malik said his original report remained his independent advice to the government and the benchmark against which progress should be measured. He said he would support areas where the government had acted and keep advocating for the recommendations still outstanding.

The Alliance of Australian Muslims and the Australian National Imams Council gave the response a broadly positive reception, describing it as an "unprecedented and important step in the right direction". The organisations also said considerably more remained to be done, and called for clear commitments, resources and accountability.

ANIC senior adviser Bilal Rauf identified what he described as a major omission: legal consequences and enforcement. He contrasted the response with the government's approach to antisemitism, arguing that the Islamophobia response placed comparatively greater emphasis on education, grants and community programs and less on legislative enforcement. That is a criticism from a Muslim community representative, not an established fact about government intent.

The government's response to the antisemitism envoy provides a point of comparison.

In December 2025, the Albanese Government formally adopted the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism's 13 recommendations and stated that it was taking action on all 13. The government also pointed to laws it had already passed on hate speech, hate symbols and doxxing, and announced further hate speech measures.
The Islamophobia response, delivered seven months later, was materially different. The government accepted 35 of 54 recommendations but did not accept the report in full, particularly where the recommendations intersected with counter-terrorism law, discrimination law and proposed inquiries. The government has defended the distinction by pointing to the different policy and national-security considerations involved.

The government has acted on a substantial portion of the Islamophobia envoy's recommendations, but it has not adopted the report as a whole.

The published response also raises a question of transparency.

The government says 35 of the 54 recommendations have been accepted, but the published response is organised by policy theme rather than by recommendation number. Without comparing the two documents, a reader cannot check the 35/54 figure or identify exactly which recommendations have been accepted, partially accepted, deferred or rejected. SBS likewise reported that the government had not specified which recommendations it would adopt.

The government has now provided its formal response, ten months after Malik's report.

What those commitments change in schools, universities, policing, community safety, mental health, public administration and Australian law will depend on implementation.

The government has chosen which recommendations to pursue.

Malik has made it clear that he intends to keep pressing for the rest.

You be the judge.

Evidence

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