In Short
From 22 January 2026, businesses face new legal risks under the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026. The Act creates serious offences for funding or supporting prohibited hate groups, and these laws apply to companies as well as individuals. The changes affect supply chains, employee conduct and online content management.
Tips for Businesses
Review your contracts, supplier onboarding and donation processes to ensure you do not deal with prohibited hate groups. Update employment policies and train staff on the new recklessness standard for advocating violence. If you host user-generated content, monitor and remove unlawful material promptly. Keep clear records of due diligence and compliance steps.
Summary
This article is a guide for Australian business owners on the new hate speech and prohibited hate group laws introduced in 2026. LegalVision’s business lawyers explain the key changes and practical compliance steps; LegalVision, a commercial law firm, specialises in advising clients on employment law, regulatory compliance and commercial risk management.
From 22 January 2026, businesses face new legal risks under the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026.
The Act creates strict new offences and heavy penalties for funding or supporting prohibited groups. These laws apply to companies as well as individuals. For business owners, this is not just a criminal law issue. It also impacts workplace culture, supply chain checks and corporate social responsibility.
This article explains the key changes introduced by the new laws and sets out practical steps your business can take to ensure compliance.
What Are the New Laws?
The Government introduced the new law in January 2026 to build on the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Act 2025. In 2025, Parliament expanded the meaning of ‘advocating’ violence to include recklessness. Whereas in 2026, Parliament created a specific regime for ‘Prohibited Hate Groups’.
Key provisions include:
- the Government can now list organisations as ‘prohibited hate groups’ (similar to the existing terrorist organisation listing framework);
- it is now a criminal offence to direct, fund, recruit for, or provide material support to a prohibited hate group; and
- the laws strengthen bans on the public display of hate symbols (such as Nazi symbols).
How Do These Laws Impact Businesses?
While the laws are primarily targeted at extremist groups, the broad definition of ‘support’ and ‘funding’ creates new compliance obligations for businesses.
Financial and Supply Chain Risks
The new offences regarding funding and providing support to prohibited hate groups apply to everyone, including corporations.
Businesses must exercise due diligence to avoid inadvertently supporting prohibited hate groups, as even unintentional support can attract legal scrutiny despite the law focusing on reckless or intentional conduct. This includes:
- charitable donations;
- community sponsorships; and
- supplier or contractor relationships.
Workplace Culture and Employee Conduct
Under the Act, a person may be liable if they are reckless about whether their words promote violence against a protected group, such as:
- groups defined by race;
- religion;
- gender identity;
- sexual orientation; or
- disability.
This impacts your workplace in two ways:
- an employee making heated comments about protected groups in the workplace may now be crossing a criminal threshold, not just a disciplinary one; or
- if an employee is found to be a member of a ‘prohibited hate group’ outside of work, this creates complex legal issues regarding their continued employment. If a business discovers an employee belongs to such a group, it may be employing someone involved in criminal activity, not just holding extreme views.
Online Content and Marketing
If your business hosts user-generated content, your risk increases, such as:
- a forum;
- comments section or social media group.
Under the new Act, you could be seen as recklessly supporting a prohibited hate group if you know illegal content is on your platform and do not remove it.
Even if your conduct does not amount to a criminal offence, the eSafety Commissioner can still take action against you. Under the Online Safety Act, the Commissioner has broad powers to issue takedown notices and impose significant fines if you host content that promotes violence or supports criminal organisations.
Learn how to manage employment disputes and effectively protect your business from legal action. This guide delves into the most common employment disputes.
Three Practical Steps for Businesses
1. Review Your Service Agreements
Businesses should review and update their standard commercial agreements, including those with suppliers and service providers. Consider inserting specific clauses to ensure all parties acknowledge and commit to complying with the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Act 2026.
These provisions should include:
- a formal warranty from the other party that they are not a prohibited group and do not support one;
- an indemnity to protect your business from any losses if that warranty is breached; and
- a clear right of termination for non-compliance.
2. Review Your Due Diligence
If your business makes frequent donations or engages many small third-party contractors, consider adding a check against the government’s list of Prohibited Hate Groups to your onboarding process. This is similar to the checks many businesses already do for sanctions or money laundering.
3. Refresh Employee Training and Policies
Remind staff that the legal landscape has changed. You should explain that behaviour which may have previously led only to internal disciplinary action could now amount to a criminal offence for advocating violence.
A new, lower ‘recklessness’ standard now applies. This means an employee can be liable not only if they intend to encourage violence, but also if they are careless about whether their words could encourage it.
Key Takeaways
For businesses, the key takeaways are:
- it is illegal to fund, support, or display symbols of prohibited hate groups;
- businesses should ensure they do not inadvertently financially support listed hate groups through supply chains or donations; and
- make sure your employment policies are aligned with the new Act.
LegalVision provides ongoing legal support for businesses through our fixed-fee legal membership. Our experienced disputes & litigation lawyers and employment lawyers help businesses manage contracts, employment law, disputes, intellectual property, and more, with unlimited access to specialist lawyers for a fixed monthly fee. To learn more about LegalVision’s legal membership, call 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Potentially. If an employee advocates violence against a protected group, this may be a criminal offence. It can also create workplace and reputational risks for your business. Employers should address this conduct under workplace policies and seek legal advice where serious issues arise.
Yes. Businesses can commit an offence if they fund or support a prohibited hate group, including through donations, sponsorships or supplier relationships. You should carry out due diligence to ensure organisations you deal with are not listed as prohibited groups.
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