The ACT's top cop has said diverse threats "will continue to occur" after an alleged bomb scare forced the Prime Minister to evacuate his Canberra home overnight.
The chief police officer's warning follows another unrelated evacuation of a major Defence event in Yarralumla last week when police received reports of rocks and a suspicious item being thrown through the hotel's windows.
Deputy Commissioner Scott Lee said the broader threat environment was becoming more challenging and threat situations were becoming more diverse.
"We're seeing a lack of trust in institutions and authority, so it manifests itself in a range of ways," the chief police officer said.
Only last week, the Australian Federal Police's National Security Investigations team charged a Queanbeyan man with making alleged threats towards two federal parliamentarians on social media.
Asked if ACT Policing are concerned about more incidents, including bomb scares and lone actors, Deputy Commissioner Lee said the force was anticipating such threats would continue.
"We need to be prepared that they will continue. Unfortunately, it seems to be the environment at the moment ... we're certainly prepared that situations will continue to occur," he said.
While there is a joint counter-terrorism team in the ACT, the deputy commissioner said police must also ready to deal with the "broader threat continuum" to ensure community safety in the capital.
He said this in response to recent unrelated incidents where more than a dozen pipe bombs were reportedly found in Belconnen, two explosives were reported in Duffy, and another detonated explosive was discovered at an oval in Holder.
"The ACT is not immune, like every other state and territory in the country. Counter-terrorism, combating violent extremism, both physically and online, is a priority for ACT Policing, and it's a priority for the ACT government ... it is something we take seriously and we prioritise in terms of our response and the resourcing that we allocate," Deputy Commissioner Lee said.
"It's important to acknowledge there's a couple of elements to it. There are ... terrorism threats and terrorism allegations that we respond to.
"We've seen that over the past couple of years, we've charged two young people with terrorism-related offenses here in the ACT."
Deputy Commissioner Lee said the approach to high-level threats and incidents linked to terrorism was built on prevention, including pathways to try and divert people away from radicalisation, and tactical readiness.
He said police undertook continuous exercises with emergency services in the ACT to prepare for mass casualty events, shootings and violent incidents in shopping centres.
"In the context of our preparedness, we undertake armed offender exercises for our uniformed police officers ... whether it's terrorism-related or another type of mass casualty event," the chief police officer said.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) raised the national threat level from "possible" to "probable" in August 2024.
As at February 2026, the threat level remains "probable" meaning intelligence authorities believe there is a greater than 50 per cent chance of an onshore attack being planned in the next 12 months.
According to the national security website, this was because of the compounding effects of socio-political issues intersecting with personal grievances, the rise of violent extremism, and social media platforms driving volatility.
ASIO had found globally there was erosion of trust in governments, lower social cohesion, and said young people were particularly at risk.
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