As debate intensifies over Labor’s proposed Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill, legal experts are giving a quiet warning. For many migrant and religious communities, something as everyday as sharing a message on WhatsApp could become risky.
WhatsApp remains one of the most widely used platforms among multicultural Australians, especially older migrants and community leaders who rely on group chats to share news, opinions and commentary from overseas. During periods of tension, those groups can quickly become flooded with forwarded messages attacking religious or ethnic communities, often framed as jokes, memes or emotional reactions to global events.
The proposed law doesn’t target WhatsApp itself. Instead, it focuses on the act of sharing. Forwarding a message that promotes hatred, dehumanises a group of people, or claims one religion is inferior could lead to trouble if someone reports it. The law will look at whether what was shared could make a reasonable person feel threatened or afraid.
A big misconception is that private, encrypted chats are safe. In reality, group chats are rarely truly private. Messages can be screenshot, forwarded to outsiders, or reported by members of the group. Once a message is on your phone, it can be used as evidence, no matter how private you thought the conversation was.
Simply forwarding something isn’t a legally neutral act. Even if you think you’re just passing information along, the law could see it as you endorsing or amplifying that material. This is especially true if you add a comment like “this is true” or “they deserve it.” Forwarding harmful content repeatedly, or being in groups where abuse is common, increases the risk.
Community leaders say the Bill has also prompted reflection on responsibility and restraint within digital spaces.
Shiyas Khalid, from the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) Melbourne, says the intent of the legislation matters as much as how it is applied. “This bill is good in one way – to control hate speech and violence – as long as it is used in a positive direction,” he says. “I see only positive outcomes from this. We are against sharing unnecessary matters that can create division in the community.”
For Khalid, the focus should remain on coexistence rather than confrontation. “I would say: stick with your own beliefs and don’t impose them on others. We need peace and harmony in society, and we need to respect one another.”
Legal observers note that the highest-risk content tends to fall into familiar patterns. Messages abusing religious groups, portraying communities as dangerous or inferior, encouraging others to “teach a lesson”, or repeatedly dehumanising a target group are far more likely to raise concern than criticism of ideas or policies. Tone, repetition and context matter as much as the words themselves.
WhatsApp group administrators carry an added responsibility. Admins who allow sustained abuse, fail to intervene when arguments turn personal, or actively encourage hostile commentary may face greater scrutiny if a group becomes known for circulating hateful material. In contrast, admins who shut down attacks, remind members of boundaries and remove repeat offenders reduce risk for themselves and their communities.
Others point to the information ecosystem that fuels the spread of such messages in the first place. Sudhir Juneja, a business and marketing professional land a long-time community observer, says misinformation thrives where credible news is hard to access. “People don’t follow real news because most good journalism sits behind paywalls,” he says. “As a result, many consume whatever news comes through WhatsApp forwards.”
That environment, he argues, makes individual judgement critical. “There is a flood of forwards, coordinated IT cells, and constant sharing across platforms. What matters most is that people retain their sense of discernment.”
The proposed bill also includes changes to migration law. This could allow visas to be cancelled or refused based on a person’s online activity or public statements, even if they haven’t been convicted of a crime. This part of the bill hasn’t gotten much attention in politics, but migration lawyers warn it could impact students, temporary workers, and permanent residents caught in online arguments.
Because of this, community organisations are starting to give simple advice: pause before you forward something emotional, especially about overseas conflicts or religion. Don’t add language that sounds like you agree with it, leave groups that thrive on abuse, and try to keep discussions focused on issues, not people’s identities.
The political debate about the bill has mostly been about free speech, guns, and parliamentary process. Migrant communities aren’t the focus of that debate, but they might feel the effects the most in their daily digital lives, where lines can be crossed without much thought.
As Parliament gets ready to look at the law, the message from legal experts is clear: think before you forward. A message sent in anger can travel farther than you meant it to, and the consequences can last much longer than the moment you hit “send.”
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