The Australian defence force says it has “no place” for rightwing extremists, despite one of its members remaining in the service for more than eight months after police found he had been involved in a gathering of the National Socialist Network, a neo-Nazi group.

Separately, the 25-year-old Sydney man was charged in August with possessing alleged violent extremist and child abuse material on his mobile phones after being arrested in Holsworthy. He will face court again next month.

The Australian federal police charged the man after it received intelligence that he attended an NSN gathering in Marsfield, in Sydney’s north, in late 2024.

Footage of the gathering, seen by Guardian Australia, shows about a dozen men clad in black exercise clothing in a public park. It is believed they had been conducting a “training” session.

_{Sign up: AU Breaking News email}

“Further inquiries indicated the man may be in possession of the illicit material,” the AFP said in a statement.

“Search warrants were executed at various locations in February, April and August 2025. Items seized included mobile phones which allegedly contained violent extremist and child abuse material. Forensic review of the devices allegedly revealed the presence of the material, including video artefacts of terrorist attacks and videos depicting minors performing sexual acts.

“The man is alleged to be a member of several online chat groups where the illicit material was discussed and disseminated.”

He has been charged with one count of possessing violent extremist material and one count of possessing child abuse material.

It is believed he remains an ADF member, but defence would not confirm this, nor when it became aware he was an associate of the NSN.

“There is no place within defence for behaviours or associations that are inconsistent with defence values,” an ADF spokesperson said.

“Defence has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behaviour.”

Administration and disciplinary processes can occur in situations where a defence member is charged with or convicted of a civilian offence, as opposed to within the military justice system. The ADF would not comment on whether the man was already subject to such a process.

The ADF also did not comment on whether state and federal law enforcement and intelligence bodies shared information with them about members suspected to be involved in groups such as the NSN.

In 2021, a new Asio framework was developed to share information with the armed services about potential extremist links.

The ADF also declined to comment on whether it monitors employees’ possible involvement with these groups, and how it educates its members about the risk of far-right groups.

Last year, Guardian Australia revealed there had been at least 16 investigations into defence personnel allegedly engaging with extremism or supremacism since 2022.

In October 2021, the ADF tightened its vetting procedures in an attempt to prevent nationalist and racist violent extremists from joining amid concerns former personnel were linked to local white supremacist groups.

Asio also warned in its annual report that year that “some nationalist and racist violent extremists seek to join the Australian defence force to obtain training and capability.”