Committal proceedings have begun for four men charged over a plot to attack central sites in Melbourne, including Federation Square, at Christmas last year.
Hamza Abbas, 22, Ibrahim Abbas, 23, Abdullah Chaarani, 27, and 24-year-old Ahmed Mohamed appeared before Magistrate Peter Mealy.
Additional security measures including extra police officers were outside the court and those wanting to go into the courtroom were subjected to additional screening.
The men are charged with planning a terrorist act and conspiring with each other to prepare for a terrorist act.
The charge sheets alleged the conspiracy began in October last year.
The court heard the men drove to Federation Square on December 20 and they were arrested two days later.
A forensic expert gave evidence that he examined three cars in late December but found no explosives.
John Kelleher from the Victoria Police Forensic Crime Centre told the court he examined the contents of a plastic container in which 32 grams of ground-up match heads were mixed with 356 grams of ground-up material from flammable sparklers.
Detective Leading Senior Constable Lindsay Hall from the Australian Federal Police and the joint-counter terrorism unit gave evidence that the men had tried to procure chemicals and other materials for homemade bombs and had tried to get knives and machetes and other weapons.
The court heard Hamza Abbas and another defendant were videotaped buying peroxide at a chemist on December 2.
But under questioning by lawyer Julian McMahon, representing Hamza Abbas, Detective Hall admitted there was no evidence the 22-year-old had possessed any of the materials or weapons.
The young men were subject to surveillance operations including the use of telephone intercepts and listening devices.
The hearing resumes tomorrow.
