Europol
Based in The Hague in the Netherlands, Europol is an international policing organisation supporting European Union (EU) and non-EU countries to prevent and combat:
- serious international crime
- cybercrime
- terrorism.
Australia became a member of Europol in 2007 through the signing of an International Treaty Level Agreement. This agreement allows authorised Australian agencies to exchange information and intelligence, and interact with Europol member countries.
In each country, a National Contact Point (NCP) is the key point of contact for Europol, other Europol member countries and domestic law enforcement agencies.
We host Europol’s NCP for Australia in our Canberra headquarters, and it operates 24/7, 365 days a year.
Australia's role in Europol
We work with more than 50 countries, to combat crimes directly impacting Australia and Europol partners. As an operational partner of Europol, Australia contributes to transnational intelligence projects and operational investigative outcomes specific to crime types, including:
- terrorism
- child sexual exploitation
- drug investigations
- human trafficking
- cybercrime
- financial and economic offences.
Our membership of Europol enables closer engagement in cross-border operations in Europe and across the world. We access Europol's law enforcement databases and collaborate at conferences, workshops and action days. This can result in multi-agency arrests and searches conducted against criminal elements.
Our role is to facilitate the exchange of intelligence and operational information between Australian law enforcement and government bodies, Europol and its member countries.
We also have Europol liaison officers who work in Europol’s headquarters in The Hague and support the AFP in fulfilling our role.
Learn more about Investigative services for Australian government bodies
