Rocco Avati

Rocco Avati, also known online as Rocco Varty, is an Australian activist associated with the anti-government and sovereign-citizen movement.

Rocco Avati
Born	Rocco Avati 18 August Italy
Other names	Rocco Varty
💼 Occupation
📆 Years active	2023-present

He has been publicly identified in Australian media coverage of the organisation Nmdaka Dalai Australis (NDA) and its activities involving purported legal notices and a self-described alternative court system.

Sovereign citizen movement

In 2023, Avati came to attention during the campaign for the Australian Indigenous Voice referendum. ABC News reporter Kevin Nguyen described Avati as one of the main Sydney-based figures in what he called the Australian "freedom movement".

Avati has been identified by Australian media as a participant in the sovereign citizen movement. Sovereign citizens generally reject the authority of governments and courts, often using pseudo-legal arguments to claim that conventional laws and institutions do not apply to them.

Avati became associated with Nmdaka Dalai Australis, commonly abbreviated as NDA. The group describes itself as an alternative authority and has claimed that its own purported court possesses jurisdiction in Australia. Australian courts do not recognise the organisation or its purported legal authority.

According to ABC News, NDA refers to itself as the "Superior Court of Australia", while referring to the actual High Court of Australia as a lower court. The group has also established its own purported sheriffs and issued documents presented as legal notices, warrants and other instruments.

Council and court activities

In 2024, Avati and other NDA members attracted national attention after visiting local government offices in Sydney.

News.com.au reported that the group, led by Avati under the name Rocco Varty, entered several council offices and presented "cease and desist" notices. The group also declared the areas to be purported "demilitarised zones" and challenged the authority of Australian government institutions. Councils reported in connection with the campaign included Canterbury-Bankstown, Strathfield, Inner West and Burwood.

Similarly it was reported that Varty led members of NDA in distributing purported legal documents to council offices and described the group's actions as a pseudo-legal challenge to Australian governmental authority.

Avati also filmed himself attempting to deliver NDA documents at courts. ABC Investigations reported that in May 2024 he said he had attempted to serve an NDA notice on a judge during proceedings at Windsor in north-west Sydney. According to the report, a court officer refused to pass the documents to the judge.

Legal troubles

Avati has also been involved in legal proceedings relating to driving offences.

In 2023, Avati appeared before Tamworth Local Court following a highway patrol stop in Barraba. The report described him as disputing the court's jurisdiction and the charges against him using arguments associated with sovereign citizen ideology.

In 2024, ABC Investigations reported that while facing driving-offence proceedings in Sydney, Avati sent an email to a magistrate demanding $100,000 and threatening a purported investigation by the "first nations Nmdaka Dalai Australis Court" if the demand was not met.

It was also reported on an earlier encounter between Avati and NSW Police in which he used the name "Rocco of the House of Varty". The report said he was subsequently arrested in connection with an alleged breach of bail.

Political and social views

Voice referendum

During the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum, Avati publicly opposed the proposed constitutional amendment. In a video posted to TikTok under the name Rocco Varty, he appeared to record himself invalidly voting in the referendum writing “GET FUCKED GOV!!!” on the ballot paper.

Immigration

In 2026, Avati endorsed a “Remigration Rally” advocating the reversal of what organisers described as “third-world immigration” and warning that Australians were becoming a minority in the Hawkesbury.

Brumby management

Avati has also publicly expressed opposition to the culling of brumbies in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales; which he has described as a “genocide”. He has published several videos supporting the protection of the horses and criticising the NSW Government's brumby management program.

Death penalty

In July 2024, ABC Investigations reported that Avati had made claims that Australia would introduce the death penalty.

In March 2025, Avati posted a video filmed at a Bunnings warehouse in Kingsgrove in which he discussed timber and rope as materials for constructing gallows. He said the materials could be used “someday, very, very soon” for hanging people whom he described as “28 pedophiles”, as well as “guilty politicians” and “guilty police”. The remarks appeared to advocate or contemplate execution by hanging.

In December 2023, Avati claimed that tap water in Hurlstone Park, contained unspecified chemicals, describing it as “poison” and as evidence that people were still being treated as “lab rats” and alleging that those responsible were trying to kill the public. During the video, Avati made violent statements about those he believed responsible, including calling for them to be “hung” and stating that “we better kill them before they kill us”.

COVID-19 vaccinations

In March 2026, Avati confronted Kyle Sandilands outside the Federal Court in Sydney following a court appearance. The incident was filmed and circulated online and involved protesters questioning Sandilands about his views on COVID-19 vaccination.

Personal life

From 2022, Avati lived in a caravan at Ewen Park in Hurlstone Park, located in Sydney's south-west. He subsequently became involved in a dispute with Canterbury-Bankstown Council concerning the caravan and his occupation of the site.

On 14 August 2026, the caravan was towed from Ewen Park by Canterbury-Bankstown Council. Avati subsequently published material on social media alleging that the council had unlawfully taken or removed his property and referring to the removal as a proposed "theft". His public posts concerning the dispute also referenced council correspondence and the council's consideration of action concerning the caravan.

In April 2026, Avati alleged he had received a death threat in connection with a planned “Freedom Barbecue”. He published a screenshot showing a photograph of a bloodied knife accompanied by a message threatening him.

Hospitalisation

In November 2025, Avati reported on social media that he had become seriously unwell after consuming what he described as a "wild berry" picked from a tree. He subsequently published an appeal to his followers asking them to call an ambulance for him.

According to his online posts, he was subsequently treated at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. The incident was documented by Varty on social media, where he described the circumstances surrounding his illness and his subsequent hospitalisation.

The nature of the berry and the precise medical cause of his illness have not been independently established in publicly available sources.

References

This article "Rocco Avati" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Rocco Avati. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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