--- description: A teenager and a young man in Australia have been charged with conspiring to commit an act of terrorism, Reuters reported title: 2 Australians Charged With Conspiring to Commit Terrorism image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta09f134b1eba9e30/698874c8ab6d7741826a7850/rtr46o3k.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Australia](/tag/australia/) ## Australia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Two Australians Charged With Conspiring to Commit Terrorism by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 10, 2015 4:14 AM CUT  Police talk outside a house that was involved in pre-dawn raids in the western Sydney suburb of Guilford Sept. 8, 2014. Police talk outside a house that was involved in pre-dawn raids in the western Sydney suburb of Guilford Sept. 8, 2014.David Gray—Reuters by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 10, 2015 4:14 AM CUT A teenager and a young man in Australia have been [charged](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-arrests-idUSKBN0TS31120151210#JhTY271qbYZkFh7R.97 "undefined") with conspiring to commit an act of terrorism, after they were arrested Thursday. Police told reporters that the men, ages 15 and 20, were plotting with three others already detained, to stage attacks on random civilians and at Australian government complexes, including the Australian Federal Police’s headquarters in Sydney, reports Reuters. Police arrested the men in raids in Sydney early Thursday, acting in part on evidence seized during an earlier round of raids this time last year. The two men in question were involved in “formulating documents connected with preparations to facilitate, assist, or engage a person to undertake a terrorist act,” according to a [police statement](http://www.afp.gov.au/media-centre/news/afp/2015/december/media-release-two-men-charged-in-operation-appleby-investigation "undefined"). Australia, which some experts say is both a [breeding ground](http://time.com/2911040/australia-isis-syria-iraq-terrorism/ "undefined") and [target](http://time.com/3633439/isis-isil-extremism-australia/ "undefined") for Islamist jihadists, has taken stringent measures in the past year to mitigate the threat of terrorism. Earlier this month, the country [passed a bill](http://time.com/4136195/australia-law-citizenship-terror-convict/ "undefined") that would strip dual nationals of their Australian citizenship if they engage in or are suspected of activities relating to terrorism. The arrest of the two men comes almost exactly a year after an Islamist extremist took 18 people hostage at a chocolate café in Sydney. The siege, which authorities [described](http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/martin-place-siege-being-treated-as-terrorist-attack-police-confirm-20141215-127mh5.html "undefined") as a terrorist attack, left three dead, including the perpetrator. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-arrests-idUSKBN0TS31120151210#JhTY271qbYZkFh7R.97 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4143980/sydney-australia-terrorist-suspects-conspiracy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4143980/sydney-australia-terrorist-suspects-conspiracy/"},"headline":"Two Australians Charged With Conspiring to Commit Terrorism","datePublished":"2015-12-10T04:14:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:15:24.658Z","description":"The plot targeted Australian civilians and government facilities","url":"https://time.com/4143980/sydney-australia-terrorist-suspects-conspiracy/","keywords":["Australia","Terrorism","sydney","extremism"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta09f134b1eba9e30/698874c8ab6d7741826a7850/rtr46o3k.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta09f134b1eba9e30/698874c8ab6d7741826a7850/rtr46o3k.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Police talk outside a house that was involved in pre-dawn raids in the western Sydney suburb of Guilford","caption":"Police talk outside a house that was involved in pre-dawn raids in the western Sydney suburb of Guilford","creditText":"David Gray—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/australia/","name":"Australia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4143980/sydney-australia-terrorist-suspects-conspiracy/","name":"Two Australians Charged With Conspiring to Commit Terrorism"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Why So Many Foreign Fighters Join ISIS","description":"A growing number of foreigners is joining the Islamic militant group - but why?","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/xvTQSd5R/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-05T19:18:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xvTQSd5R.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4143980/sydney-australia-terrorist-suspects-conspiracy/","duration":"PT2M58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4143980/sydney-australia-terrorist-suspects-conspiracy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```