Malcolm Turnbull has flagged a rethink by security agencies of the design and protections in place at large public gatherings in the wake of last week's terror attack in Nice.
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The government's counter-terrorism co-ordinator Greg Moriarty has been tasked with considering lessons for Australian security from the deaths of more than 80 people in France and preparing strategies to prevent lone wolf attacks here.
The Prime Minister told Melbourne radio 3AW security arrangements at large public events will be considered. "We'll certainly have to rethink the way we design and protect places where large numbers of Australians gather," Mr Turnbull said.
"We already have security measures in place, but the example of Nice ... if there are going to be large numbers of people in a place which is accessible by vehicles, then we have to think about what we do physically to prevent a vehicle getting access as this truck did for over 2 kilometres.
"There is a lot to be done in terms of design," he said.
Mr Turnbull said Australians should live their lives as normal despite the probability of a terror attack here.
"I think it is very important to go about our lives the way we always do.
"We obviously need to be mindful of our own safety but we do have the best law enforcement and security agencies in the world. They pay very close attention to all of these issues."
Australia's terror threat warning level has remained at "probable" since late 2014, an indication that terror groups of individuals have the required intent and capability to conduct a domestic attack.
"What we are seeing at the moment is people being radicalised, or adopting murderous Islamist ideology very, very quickly," Mr Turnbull said.
"You have people that are not on the counter-terrorism radar screen who then often as a result of mental illness will then attach themselves to this murderous ideology and then act very quickly."
In April, owners and developers of properties in busy public areas such as shopping malls and city centres were urged to consider increasing "stand-off distance" around buildings to mitigate risk from bomb blasts and to limit vehicle access.
New guidelines for dealing with the threat of improvised explosive devices were released by Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter-Terrorism Michael Keenan.
The guidelines recommended the installation of "strategically-placed objects" such as planter boxes, seats and bollards on pavements and entrances to buildings, shops and restaurants that front on to public areas.
Mr Turnbull said encryption software on messaging applications had made some surveillance operations more difficult and that early warning, including from members of the community, was critical.
"If you believe you know somebody ... who you believe is becoming radicalised, or is giving you cause for concern that they might engage in this type of violent conduct, if they've started showing signs of adopting Islamist ideology ... then it's important to let the security agencies know," Mr Turnbull said.
Mr Turnbull said the the current major threat originated in a perversion of Islamic ideology.
On Friday, Mr Moriarty said a standard approach to counter-terrorism was not effective against groups like Islamic State, whose propaganda and extremism appealed to people for a wide variety of reasons.
