Youth radicalisation on the rise, Home Affairs warns of growing extremist exposure

During a session of the antisemitism royal commission, Department of Home Affairs counter-terrorism coordinator Brendan Downing reported that youth engagement with extremist content is climbing at a disturbing pace. He cited data showing children as young as ten are being referred to voluntary counter-violent-extremism programs in several jurisdictions. A recent pilot on TikTok presented at-risk users with a pop-up linking them to case managers; more than 6,500 users encountered the prompt, about 790 clicked it, and twelve entered deeper conversations.

Dowling emphasized that such outreach, rather than police action, is often more appropriate for minors. He also mentioned ongoing talks to replicate the model on Roblox, given its user-generated content risks. The coordinator called these initiatives "critically important" for curbing radicalisation in the community.