PM Abbott flags new terror alert system

Australia's terrorism alert level system will be overhauled before the end of the year, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced.

Mr Abbott today announced a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments had agreed to introduce the new system, subject to community consultation.

The new threat levels will be: certain, expected, probable, possible and not expected, which Mr Abbott thinks will be much easier for the public to understand.

The current system measures the threat level in four categories: extreme, high, medium and low.

Mr Abbott said he believed there was too much room for “interpretation” in the existing system.