Australia's counter-terrorism czar has been tasked with exploring whether potential "lone wolf" terrorists can be better identified by closer agency co-operation and information-sharing on extremism, criminality and mental illness.
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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has asked the national counter-terrorism coordinator, Greg Moriarty, to examine the trend whereby people who were apparently disturbed to begin with have seized on Islamist extremism shortly prior to carrying out atrocities.
It follows a spate of bloody attacks in Orlando, Nice and Wurzburg carried out by assailants who may have had little or no connection to the Islamic State but were harbouring grievances caused by mental, social or emotional problems and therefore were vulnerable to rapid radicalisation.
Mr Moriarty said a "one size fits all" approach to counter-terrorism would not work because IS – also known as ISIL – propaganda and extremism appealed to people for widely varying reasons.
"For some, the attraction is ideological and absolute. They believe in a narrow and extreme interpretation of Islam where there can be no compromise with the West or with other Muslims who do not accept the righteousness of ISIL's cause and submit to its will," he said in a statement provided to Fairfax Media.
"But we also now face another challenge from those who are not necessarily deeply committed to and engaged with the Islamist ideology but are nonetheless, due to a range of reasons, including mental health issues, susceptible to being motivated and lured rapidly down a dangerous path by the terrorist narrative.
"For some of these people, the warped views which ISIL propagates can, to their own distorted way of thinking, justify their anger at society and give meaning to their existence."
The scourge of the so-called "lone wolf" is a particular nightmare for national security agencies because a person with no connections with known extremist networks and who doesn't communicate with others about their views or intentions is extremely difficult to detect.
The rethink could lead to national security agencies re-ordering their priority cases. For instance, instead of focusing heavily on people who have deep and enduring links to extremist networks, they could pay more attention to people who have recently become radicalised but also have criminal records or mental health issues.
It could also eventually lead to more cooperation between national security, regular law enforcement and health sectors.
For instance, national security agencies could, when they identify someone who has been heavily researching jihadist material online, prioritise that person according to whether they have extensive criminal or mental health records. However, privacy concerns would need to be factored into any closer collaboration.
Such an approach would likely also be more effective in picking up threats such as Lindt Café attacker Man Haron Monis, who had criminal and mental health issues and held his own brand of extreme views but only declared himself an Islamic State follower very late and therefore was not regarded a high-priority threat.
Mr Moriarty will also consider lessons out of the Nice attack that killed 84 people after Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a truck through a Bastille Day crowd.
His considerations will include how to protect crowds of Australians from such vehicle attacks.
And he will look at the implications of terrorists using fast-evolving encryption technology, which makes it very hard for authorities to track their communications.
Mr Moriarty said social cohesion with Muslim communities remained central to tackling terrorism. Australia needed an approach that would keep the country "both secure and united, not just for tomorrow or next year, but for decades and possibly generations".
The sense of urgency has increased in the wake of recent attacks in Nice, Orlando and Germany.
In each case, those attackers appear to have been socially, emotionally or mentally unstable and have radicalised rapidly.
Neither the Nice murderer, nor the German train attackers were known to counter-terrorism authorities. The Orlando attacker had been on the radar of national security authorities after making threats against colleagues, but his claimed associations with radical groups have proved confused and contradictory or in some cases plainly fabricated.
