Terrorism has a catastrophic impact on societies, so the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is committed to disrupting terrorism. Terrorism resourcing, otherwise known as terrorism financing, facilitates terrorism, so DFAT seeks to disrupt terrorism resourcing in relation to its activities.

Australian law criminalises the fostering of terrorism, including terrorism resourcing, with offences applying under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) and the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (Cth) and its associated regulations. Offences may apply, regardless of whether the conduct constituting the offence, or the impact resulting from the offence, occurred inside or outside Australia.

DFAT is committed to making all reasonable efforts to ensure public resources are not used, either directly or indirectly,^[1] in a way that supports a person who, or an organisation that, fosters terrorism. To help stifle terrorism, DFAT requires its officers and funding recipients^[2] to manage terrorism resourcing risks in relation to any of its activities.

DFAT's contracts, grant agreements and other funding arrangements require funding recipients to appropriately manage the risks of terrorism resourcing. Funding recipients must also ensure their contractors, grantees and other parties appropriately manage terrorism resourcing risks.

DFAT, and by extension its funding recipients, should employ the principle of reasonable efforts to ensure resources do not assist, or otherwise support, terrorist organisations, including the operatives that perform terrorist acts. DFAT requires its officers and funding recipients to define reasonableness within an adequate framework of risk management.

Reasonable efforts are applied through two main practices:

• reasonable due diligence
• reasonable precautions

Exercising due diligence should prevent DFAT and its funding recipients from entering into contracts, grant agreements and other funding arrangements with a person who, or an organisation that, fosters terrorism. At the very least, DFAT's officers and funding recipients must crosscheck persons and organisations against the proscribed lists before entering into an agreement or ongoing arrangement.

The proscribed lists are:

• List of Terrorist Organisations
• DFAT Consolidated List

For more information about DFAT's Consolidated List, see Australia's sanctions regime.

Undertaking precautions should assist DFAT, and its funding recipients, with the ongoing management of terrorism resourcing risks throughout the lifespan of any activity. This includes, for example, the continued implementation of controls and treatments to manage terrorism resourcing risks specific to the activity.

Reporting

For DFAT related activities, DFAT officers and funding recipients must report any suspected or actual acts of terrorism resourcing, or any exact matches to the proscribed lists, to counter-terrorism.resourcing@dfat.gov.au.

For all other suspected or actual acts of terrorism resourcing, please contact the National Security Hotline:

• 1800 123 400 (inside Australia)
• +61 1300 123 401 (outside Australia)