Australia Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said on Thursday that he will introduce a bill next week banning the public display of the Nazi Hakenkreuz, commonly known as the swastika, and SS Bolts. The bill will also ban the trade of any items which bear these symbols.

The proposed legislation comes weeks after a violent May 13 anti-immigration rally in Melbourne, where protesters performed the Nazi Salute and two men were arrested.

Notably, the Victoria government had already passed an act to criminalize the public display of Nazi symbols, starting on December 29, 2022. The state law makes intentionally displaying the Hakenkreuz and symbols that closely resemble the Hakenkreuz a summary offence, which could be subject to a fine of approximately $22,000 or 120 penalty units, 12 months’ imprisonment, or both.

While many states have had similar bans on the Nazi symbols, the proposed bill takes two steps further by bringing it to the federal level and also banning the trade of commodities that display such symbols. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus told ABC Breakfast that:

We need to send a message, that there’s no place in Australia for this kind of behavior. There’s no place in Australia for people that want to glorify the horrors of the Holocaust…It is very concerning that it’s just crept a little bit into the life of our country.

However, the new bill will not address the use of the Nazi salute. According to Dreyfus, this is more a matter for state governments because only state police patrol on the street.