What are the terrorism laws that apply to the 16-year-old charged with the Sydney church stabbing?

A Sydney teenager has been charged with committing a terrorist act, a federal offence which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The 16-year-old is alleged to have carried out the stabbing attack which injured Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and Father Isaac Royel at Christ the Good Shepherd Assyrian Church at Wakeley, in Sydney’s south-west on Monday.

The bishop and priest suffered serious injuries in the attack and the boy was quickly restrained by parishioners. No-one was killed.

So what law is this boy being charged under? And how many others have faced the same allegations?

What laws cover terrorism offences in Australia?

Australia’s terrorism laws are set out in Part 5.3 of the Criminal Code Act 1995, which is a federal act.

Under these laws, it is a crime to commit a terrorist act, plan or prepare for a terrorist act, finance terrorism, give or receive training for a terrorist act or collect or make documents to facilitate a terrorist act.

A person can be convicted of these offences even if they only intend to commit the crime.

A person can also be charged and convicted of a terrorist offence when the terrorist act itself did not occur.

These laws also cover offences in relation to being a member of a terrorist organisation, financing terrorism, urging violence or advocating for terrorism and foreign incursions and recruitment.

What are the most serious terrorism offences?

The two most serious terrorism offences in Australia are:

• Committing or engaging in a terrorist act;
• Doing any act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act.

Both offences carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Other terrorism offences carry penalties ranging from 10 years in prison, up to 25 years in prison.

One of the first major counter-terrorism investigations in Australia was Operation Appleby in September 2014, which involved hundreds of police officers conducting simultaneous raids across Sydney and Brisbane.

That operation coincided with the rise of the Islamic State militant group in Syria and Iraq, which was known for using social media and encrypted messaging apps to try and recruit people to carry out acts of terrorism.

More than 40 people across Australia have been charged with the two most serious terrorism offences since the beginning of 2015.

Who has been charged with committing a terrorist act?

The 16-year-old accused of carrying out the church stabbing has been charged with committing a terrorist act under section 101.1 of the Criminal Code Act 1995.

At least nine other people across Australia have been charged with the same offence, including one woman, since the beginning of 2015.

One of the most recent alleged terrorist attacks happened in the small seaside town of Windang, in NSW, in November 2021 when Simon Fleming, 40, armed himself with two firearms and shot at pedestrians and cars before barricading himself inside a dive shop.

Counter-terrorism police allege he possessed several documents containing extremist ideologies and a willingness to commit violent acts.

The jury at his criminal trial in 2023 was directed to find Fleming not guilty of the terrorism offence under the mental health act.

In March 2021, two Victorian brothers, Aran and Ari Sherani, were charged with attempting to commit a terrorist act by allegedly lighting bushfires.

They were found not guilty of that charge, but Aran Sherani was found guilty of purchasing a knife in preparation or planning for a terrorist act.

In November 2020, Victorian female prisoner Momena Shoma was charged with committing a terrorist act after she stabbed a fellow inmate with a pair of garden shears.

Shoma was already serving 42 years in prison for engaging in a terrorist act after she stabbed her landlord with a kitchen knife while yelling “Allahu akbar” in February 2018.

And Sydney man Ihsas Khan was found guilty of committing a terrorist act when he stabbed his neighbour Wayne Greenhalgh at Minto in September 2016.

Who has been charged with planning or preparing a terrorist act?

At least 33 people have been charged with preparing or planning to commit a terrorist act in Australia since early 2015.

Perhaps the most well-known are the four young men involved in planning the fatal shooting of NSW Police employee Curtis Cheng in October 2015.

The 15-year-old gunman Fahad Mohammed was shot dead just seconds after he fatally shot Mr Cheng outside the NSW Police Headquarters in Parramatta.

But Raban Alou, then 18, Mustafa Dirani, then 23, Talal Alameddine, then 22, and Milad Atai, then 20, were all charged with conspiring to commit a terrorist act and other offences over their roles in the shooting.

Why is the church stabbing being treated as a terrorism offence?

Under Australia’s terrorism laws, a terrorist act is defined as an act, or threat to act, that intends to advance a political, religious or ideological cause by intimidation.

To meet the threshold of a terrorist act, it must also cause either death, serious harm or danger to a person; or cause damage to property, create a risk to public safety or cause disruption to critical infrastructure.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday after the 16-year-old was charged, AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw alleged the boy’s actions met the definition of terrorism.

“It has to be political, religious or ideologically motivated violent extremism, and it’s to further a cause,” Commissioner Kershaw said.

“The elements of the commonwealth charge have been met, in our view, and that’s what we’ll be alleging.”

Taking industrial action, protesting or advocating are not considered terrorist acts, when the person does not intend to cause harm or create a risk of public safety.