Australia: NSW launches $1m plan to tackle rising Islamophobia
Premier Chris Minns said the initiative would provide practical support to people targeted by anti-Muslim abuse and strengthen community resilience, The Guardian reported on Friday.
The program includes a hotline for victims, a case management system to record incidents, and training for police officers on how to respond to Islamophobic attacks.
The funding will be administered by the Action Against Islamophobia program, led by the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC). Authorities say it will also expand support services and awareness campaigns aimed at curbing discrimination.
Minns acknowledged that official statistics do not capture the full scope of the problem. “Anecdotal evidence presented to me indicates that Islamophobia is far higher than what is reported,” he said at the launch.
“We don’t want Australians suffering in silence or enduring racism without help or support… Naked racism and Islamophobia have no place in our state or our country.”
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ANIC president Imam Shadi Alsuleiman welcomed the program, warning that rising hostility has left many Muslims fearful of practicing their faith openly.
He said that even small, dismissive behaviours had become more common. “Islamophobia manifests itself in the community in several different ways, and we’ve seen an increase in microaggressions that are often brushed off as ignorance or rude behaviour,” Alsuleiman said. He argued that understanding these experiences was key to building an effective response.
Recent figures highlight the scale of the challenge. The Islamophobia Register Australia has documented a more than 530% surge in reported incidents since October 2023, with over 1,500 cases lodged up to July 2025.
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The Scanlon Foundation’s 2024 Mapping Social Cohesion report also found that negative attitudes towards Muslims remain higher than for any other faith group, rising from 27% in 2023 to 34% in 2024.
Minister for Multiculturalism Steve Kamper said the new measures would help address both the immediate harms and the broader social climate. “This program will play a critical role in providing support to those who have been affected by this hatred while also spreading awareness of the importance of rejecting racism in all its forms,” he said.
Source: Agencies
