The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has raised Australia’s terror threat level from “possible” to “probable”, but noted that the upgrade did not mean an attack was inevitable.
The upgrade has been attributed to an increased risk of politically motivated violence, with ASIO making clear that the heightened risk did not stem from one particular incident.
ASIO Chief Mike Burgess said that Australians should simply be aware, but not afraid, but also revealed that up to eight potential terrorist attacks had been investigated over the past four months.
Mr Burgess said that the threat largely came from young people who had been radicalised online and mainly involved individuals or groups accessing simple weapons such as knives.
The “Probable” designation is the third highest threat level on the Federal Government’s Advisory Scale.
It predicts that there is a greater than 50 percent chance of an onshore attack being planned in the next twelve months.