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A ban on publicly inciting racial hatred has led to only two charges since laws rushed through parliament took effect in August, documents obtained under freedom of information reveal.

Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal told an independent inquiry into hate speech laws that prosecutors faced barriers to proving the new offence. Legal bodies warned it may be unworkable.

The National Socialist Network held a rally outside parliament in Sydney in November. No charges have been laid. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

But the Minns government is refusing to release the inquiry’s final report, as it pushes for extra hate speech laws following November’s neo-Nazi rally outside parliament and the Bondi terror attack.

Documents obtained by The Sun-Herald show two individuals were charged with the new offence, known as 93ZAA, between August 15 and the end of November.

One had charges withdrawn by prosecutors and the status of the other is unknown. No charges have been laid over the Nazi rally.

Introducing the laws in February, Attorney General Michael Daley said the offence was a direct response to escalating incidents of antisemitism in Sydney, including graffiti and firebombings, and would be punishable with an $11,000 fine or up to two years’ imprisonment.

Premier Chris Minns says he is considering when to release the report into hate speech laws. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

The law includes an exemption for quoting religious texts.

At the time, Premier Chris Minns ignored advice from the Law Reform Commission, which had recommended against new vilification laws partly because terms such as “hatred” would introduce “imprecision and subjectivity into the criminal law”.

Minns said in January: “I acknowledge that we asked for a recommendation from the state’s Law Reform Commission, but at the end of the day, I don’t believe antisemitism, antisemitic attacks begin and end with a firebombing or a graffiti attack.”