Victoria's terror watch list has blown out to more than 200 as police remain alert to the possibility of a terror attack.
The spate of recent terror attacks across the world, including the horrific Paris massacre just last month, have heightened community anxiety about a potential attack happening in Victoria, Assistant Commissioner Ross Guenther said on Saturday.
As the head of Victoria's new Counter Terrorism Command team - which will address critical areas of intelligence, prevention and investigation with specialist response officers - Mr Guenther said he and his team were secretly keeping tabs on a range of people, including those from a younger age group.
He said the number of people being watched for radical behaviour and links to terror had spiked in the past five to 10 years, and particularly since the Paris attacks.
"You can imagine that post-Paris events, there's heightened community anxiety, and, as a result of that, the number of calls we receive through the national security hotline see an increase and spikes along the way," he told reporters on Saturday.
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"This generates greater need for investigation from our behalf. Some of it is about community reassurance, and some of it leads to us following through by means of a comprehensive investigation."
Mr Guenther said social media had changed the way people connect, which has "impacted on the way young people can then legitimately be radicalised".
Victoria police last month welcomed a $49.4 million boost to police counter-terrorism efforts from the Andrews government, which includes the hire of 88 counter-terrorism experts.
