Australia’s Home Affairs Minister, Tony Burke, has revoked the visa of a UK citizen following his arrest for displaying banned Nazi symbols. The 43 year old man was charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) earlier this month while residing in Queensland.

Speaking to ABC’s News Breakfast, Burke stated: “Almost everyone on a visa is a good guest and welcome guest in our country. But if someone comes here for the purposes of hate, they can leave,” The Mirror reports.

This decision follows a tragic attack at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach on Sunday, December 14, where a father and son targeted members of the Jewish community, resulting in fifteen fatalities and numerous injuries. The AFP have attributed the attack to Islamic State ideology.

In response to the incident, Burke has introduced several measures, including the prohibition of hate symbols, and plans to enhance his ministerial powers to deport visa holders linked to hate speech or associated with hateful groups, as reported by ABC News. The AFP’s National Security Investigations (NSI) team, responsible for the disruption, is focusing on individuals and groups that threaten Australia’s social cohesion.

The Brisbane NSI team launched an investigation in October into a man who allegedly used two different usernames on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to display the Nazi Hakenkreuz and “espouse a pro-Nazi ideology with a specific hatred of the Jewish community”. The police reported that the man advocated for violence towards the Jewish community.

The AFP stated that the man posted content that breached Commonwealth law on several occasions between 10 October and 5 November.

The force revealed that X suspended the man’s primary account, prompting him to create a second username similar to the original to continue his posts.

On 21 November 2025, the AFP and Queensland Police Service executed a search warrant at a Caboolture residence. A mobile phone and numerous weapons, including swords adorned with swastika symbols, axes, and knives, were confiscated.

The man was charged with three counts of public display of prohibited Nazi symbols and one count of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

He made an appearance in Caboolture Magistrates Court on 3 December and the case has been postponed until 7 January.

A separate week-long NSI operation aimed at disrupting the importation and potential sale of prohibited symbols involved 14 distinct disruption activities across New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, and Victoria. Numerous items bearing the banned symbol were surrendered.

A 21 year old man from Queensland was apprehended after importing a substantial amount of flags and literature. Federal police stated that an examination of the man’s electronic devices allegedly revealed violent extremist material.

He has been charged with two counts of possessing or controlling such material, an offence carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

In a separate case, a 25 year old Sydney man was served with a court attendance notice. He is facing one count of performing a Nazi salute in public, an act which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment.

“While it is not an offence to import items containing prohibited symbols, a number of items identified through ABF examinations were referred to the AFP for further investigation,” said the federal police.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt emphasised that the federal police would take swift action against threats to Australia’s social cohesion. This includes educational, disruptive and deterrent activities, as well as pressing charges.

“The AFP will not tolerate any forms of intimidation, threats or calls for violence against vulnerable communities,” Nutt declared.