Publishing private information of an individual with malicious intent, known as doxxing, is to be criminalised in Australia after Pro-Palestine activists circulated a ‘Jew-list’.

The new proposed federal legislation, which would make doxxing a criminal offence punishable by jail time, is part of a review of the Privacy Act overseen by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and has received bipartisan support.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on radio station 2GB on Monday: “I’ve asked the Attorney-General to bring forward legislation in response to the Privacy Act review, including laws that deal with so-called doxing, which is basically the malicious publication of private information online.

“The idea that in Australia someone should be targeted because of their religion, because of their faith, whether they be Jewish, or Muslim, or Hindu or Catholic, it’s just completely unacceptable.

“That’s why I’ve [also] asked the Attorney-General to develop proposals to strengthen laws against hate speech. This is not the Australia we want to see.”

The legislation will include an exemption for public interest journalism.

Albanese and MPs from across the political spectrum in the country condemned last week’s doxxing as antisemitic and dangerous. Albanese said at the time that the “targeting of people because they happen to be Jewish is just completely unacceptable. It has got to stop. It must stop.”

The announcement follows news last week that anti-Israel activists published a list of 600 Australian Jews from a Jewish creatives and academics WhatsApp group, accusing them of coordinating pro-Israel activism. Their information was published widely online along with pictures of group members and links to their social media accounts.

He noted that the chat was set up as a support network for Jewish Australians experiencing antisemitism, with members having a wide range of political opinions about the Middle East.

“What they have in common,” Albanese said, “is they are members of the Jewish community.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry supported the proposed legislation.