Hello, I’m Nathan Smyth and I am Australia’s National Counter Foreign Interference Coordinator.
Foreign interference is a threat to our way of life.
Espionage and foreign interference threatens Australia’s sovereignty, democracy, values and national interests.
Australia is the target of sophisticated and persistent foreign interference activities from a range of countries.
As the Director-General of Security has previously stated, “Threats to our way of life represent Australia’s principal security concern. Based on what the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is identifying, investigating, assessing and disrupting, more Australians are being targeted for espionage and foreign interference than ever before.”
The Director-General also stated, “if we had a threat level for espionage and foreign interference it would be at CERTAIN – the highest level on the scale. The threat is now. And the threat is deeper and broader than you might think.”
What I’m talking about here when I refer to ‘foreign interference’ is activities that pose a threat to a person, or are clandestine or deceptive and detrimental to Australia’s interest. This is distinctly different from ‘foreign influence’ which is activities conducted in an open and transparent manner that are respectful of our people, society and democratic systems.
Failure to address foreign interference will have negative long-term consequences for Australia.
Left unchecked it will continue to undermine our democratic values, civil rights, government institutions, economic prosperity, media and community cohesion.
This is why the Australian Government is launching Countering Foreign Interference in Australia.
Countering Foreign Interference in Australia describes the foreign interference threats facing our communities, democratic institutions, higher education and research sectors, industry, and media and communications.
It outlines who is most at risk, what our government is doing to address foreign interference, and how individuals and organisations can protect themselves.
It describes a range of measures the Australian Government has implemented to respond to foreign interference. It includes investment by the Government of $71.6 million over four years from 2024 to bolster our countering foreign interference efforts to protect Australians from this threat.
If you see or experience foreign interference, we would like you to report it. Trust your instincts — even if you think it’s probably nothing, the smallest piece of information can be valuable.
If you witness or suspect foreign interference, please contact the National Security Hotline on 1800 123 400. If at any time you feel in danger or unsafe, call 000 or your local police.
I encourage you to familiarise yourself with Countering Foreign Interference in Australia.
