Legal Observer Report: Policing of the counter-protest to the 'March for Australia'

On 31 August 2025

On 31 August 2025, Action Ready fielded a team of eight Legal Observers to monitor policing of the counter-protest to the ‘March for Australia’. From 10:30am, the counter-protesters initially gathered in so-called King George Square (the Counter-protesters) before marching from around 11:30am up Albert Street toward the Roma Street Parklands, where the ‘March for Australia’ was assembling (the Protesters). 

Over the course of the day, Legal Observers noted concerning police practices, including the kettling of Counter-protesters on Wickham Terrace and the facilitation of their encirclement by Protesters. This conduct, along with broader police attitudes, created an environment that was  tolerant of racist abuse and intimidation, including threats of violence and a Nazi salute. Particularly troubling were threats of arrest and move-on directions toward Counter-protesters for swearing; a misuse of police powers that served to suppress political communication during a peaceful assembly.

The police appeared woefully under-prepared, in circumstances where the risk of violence and aggression by nationalist groups was foreseeable (see for example the instances of violence at the 2015 “Reclaim Australia” rally). At times, Legal Observers acted as a barrier between Protesters and Counter-protesters due to a lack of police organisation.