Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation's Jewish community.

Australia’s Victoria state will set up a anti-hate task force to help frame laws giving police more powers to tackle violent protests, as it probes a suspected arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue when worshippers were inside, it says.

A man has been charged over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue in an apparent escalation in antisemitic violence in Australia’s second-most populous city.