Lawyers for the White Australia party (a neo-Nazi group formerly known as the National Socialist Network) have argued before Australia's High Court that a federal law banning the organisation is unconstitutional and "authoritarian in nature." The party was designated a prohibited hate group in May under legislation passed following the 2024 Bondi terror attack, making activities such as joining, funding, or recruiting for the group a criminal offence carrying up to 15 years in prison. Defence barristers contended the ban breaches the implied constitutional freedom of political communication and that vesting the banning power in a government minister — rather than a judge — violates the separation of powers, drawing comparisons to a landmark 1951 ruling that struck down a Cold War-era ban on the Communist Party of Australia. The government countered that the party is not a legitimate political organisation but a rebranded extremist group that formed a party solely to shield members engaged in racist and antisemitic activity from prosecution.