Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has returned to his official residence after being evacuated due to a bomb scare, the latest in a series of security threats against politicians.
The incident sparked a significant operation by federal police, who moved the prime minister from The Lodge in Canberra to a secure location about 6pm AEDT on Tuesday.
An Australian Federal Police spokesperson said a thorough search of the property was undertaken and nothing suspicious was found.
“There is no current threat to the community or public safety,” they said.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said in a post on X he was grateful Mr Albanese was safe and condemned threats against politicians as “abhorrent”.
“Pleased to hear that the prime minister is safe and well after being evacuated from his residence in Canberra,” he said.
“Threats against any parliamentarian are utterly abhorrent, especially in a country built on expressing our differences through debate.”
The AFP stood up a national security investigations team in October 2025 to target people “causing high levels of harm to Australia’s social cohesion, including the targeting of federal parliamentarians”.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett revealed 21 people had been charged nationwide since she established the team.
“The majority of these charges relate to threats towards parliamentarians, high office holders and the Jewish community,” she told a parliamentary hearing in February.
It comes as a 67-year-old Sydney man was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly sending multiple offensive emails to a federal parliamentarian.
Police seized a mobile phone and a USB after executing a search warrant in Wollstonecraft, in the city’s inner-north.
The man was charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Meanwhile, last week, a 51-year-old man was charged over making online threats towards politicians.
The man will face court in April after federal police investigated social media posts that “contained threatening remarks towards two federal parliamentarians”.
The prime minister has been the target of threats before, with a man convicted earlier this month of using social media to menace, harass and offend.
A death threat and a graphic slur were directed at Mr Albanese and his wife, the court heard.
The AFP has reported an increasing number of threats made towards MPs in recent years, including harassment, and offensive and threatening communications.