Police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) have declared Monday’s stabbing at a Sydney church a religiously motivated “terrorist act” while declining to publicly state the faith of the alleged attacker.

The definition means counter-terrorism investigators – a joint team comprising NSW and federal police as well as the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) – now have extraordinary powers under NSW laws to investigate the attack, the BBC reports.

They can also conduct searches to prevent any further suspected attacks.