[3] AHTCC's main role is to ‘discover levels of online criminal activity’ and to undertake necessary measures to prevent or combat digital crime (Platypus, 2009, p. 7).
[3] AHTCC has partnered with large corporations, and work's alongside Australia's policing system to effectively manage web-based criminal schemes.
The AHTCC deals with different groups of cybercrime including but not limited to, hackers, viruses, scammers, identity thieves, and online terrorists.
The AFP also work with Defense Signals Directorate (DSD) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) to effectively manage cyber-attacks that would harm Australia's business environment and public sphere.
[5] Cybercrime takes numerous forms, including identity theft, digital scams, hacking, online fraud, and phishing.
The AFP is in a partnership with the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT), which includes major countries and organisations, who join forces in combating cybercrime.
Cybercrime is not just personal account hacking, but can involve breaching security of government cooperation's and networks, having a broader national impact.
The Australian police are focusing closely on child predators, targeting criminals that are a threat to society, to keep the online community safe and free from malicious and dangerous offences.
[3] Users who access and choose to view illegal content online are considered in the eyes of the Australian Law, as guilty as those who publish the footage, and thus are not free from prosecution themselves.
In April 2016, The Australian Prime Minister allocated resources and financial expenditure of A$230 million to fund cybercrime and security measures under the AHTCC operations.
Organisations of International pedophiles use digital devices and platforms to exploit children, through strategies like webcams and online mechanisms like anonymity.
[8] The AHTCC was responsible for combating this fraudulent activity effectively, avoiding the major crime from damaging the Australian economy and the broader national impact.
The AHTCC is capable of managing domestic and international cybercrime and will work alongside large nations to develop plans of combat.
[8] Recently, the AHTCC was highly successful in a case known as ‘Operation Carpo’, whereby a Western Australian man was prosecuted for withholding 56,000 credit card details, 53,000 usernames and passwords and 110,000 domain names.
The Australian Government continues to develop and improve its digital infrastructure and security, but loopholes are discovered by crime groups.
[2] Further, there is a lack of information reported about cybercrime, which proposes difficulty for government bodies, like the AHTCC, to investigate and resolve the problem.
[7] One of the initiatives of this program was to increase the number of cyber security workers, and equip more professionals with the necessary tools and skills to uphold these qualifications.
Institutions were set up to offer cybersecurity courses, and to ensure Australia remains at the front line with digital crime and technological advancements.
The AHTCC is part of the Strategic Alliance Cyber Crime Working Group, which focuses on transnational cybercrime and building strong global relationships between countries and governments to combat world-wide cyber-attacks together.
Further, the AFP requires the reporting of cybercrime offences as it provides needed information in order to seize all criminal behaviour online.