Australia’s Family First party has called on the federal government to ban the Muslim Brotherhood and investigate organizations it says may be linked to the movement.
The call was made in a media release issued on 18 September by Lyle Shelton, Family First’s national director and a candidate for the New South Wales Legislative Council. Shelton said the party was backing a proposal made by Andrew Roberts, a British historian and Lord Roberts of Belgravia, at the Centre for Independent Studies’ annual gala dinner in Sydney.
According to the Family First release, Roberts had urged the Australian government to ban the network of companies, charities, nongovernmental organizations and media outlets related to the Muslim Brotherhood, which he described as the largest jihadist organization in the world. He also called for decisive action against extremist propaganda, greater scrutiny of overseas influence and funding, tougher responses to incitement to violence, support for moderate Muslim voices, and inspection of Islamic-school curricula.
Shelton called for an investigation by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and other agencies into activities of the Brotherhood and organizations linked to it against Australian legal thresholds, citing the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the attack at Bondi Beach, where 15 people were killed with more than 40 wounded, according to the Australian Associated Press (AAP).
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Family First did not release the names of any Australian organization as a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate.
A report published by Australian think-tank, the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS), named Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood as examples of Islamic fundamentalist sources of antisemitism that required “naming and extensive investigation”.
The Muslim Brotherhood does not appear on the Australian government’s list of terrorist organizations. Hamas, which the US State Department says described itself in its 1988 charter as a wing of the Brotherhood in Palestine, has been listed in Australia since 4 March 2022.
Parliament passed legislation in January, after the Bondi attack, that created a separate mechanism for listing organizations as prohibited hate groups, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said at a press conference on 15 May. Burke said a listing can only be initiated by ASIO. A ministerial decision then follows, with the approval of the Attorney-General and consultation with the opposition, he said.
Burke said the threshold for ASIO includes whether an organization has engaged in behavior that would increase the risk of violence, while the ministerial threshold includes whether it has advocated or engaged in hate crimes.
Hizb ut-Tahrir was the first organization listed under the new powers, the ABC reported in March. The National Socialist Network, also known as the European Australian Movement and White Australia, became the second on 15 May. Supporting, funding, training, recruiting, joining or directing a listed group is a criminal offense with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, Burke said.
Global Response to Terror
The calls in Australia come amid a broader international push to restrict Islamist organisations, including separate US measures targeting Muslim Brotherhood branches and associated individuals.
In January 2026, the State and Treasury departments designated the Lebanese, Egyptian and Jordanian branches. The Lebanese branch was designated both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, while the Egyptian and Jordanian branches were designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, for providing material support to Hamas.
The State Department also designated the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in March 2026, particularly naming the Sudanese Islamic Movement and the al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade, which it accused of contributing fighters to Sudan’s war and using violence against civilians.
The US measures form part of a wider and increasing global response to Islamist organisations. Egypt designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation in 2013, while Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates followed in 2014.
