Terror attacks in Jakarta should not be seen as a direct threat to Australia but could inspire similar attacks across south-east Asia, experts on the region say.
Australian National University's Associate Professor Greg Fealy said a wide range of expatriates frequent the area of Jakarta where explosions occurred on Thursday, with no obvious signs that attackers had intended to target Australian hostages. 
"I don't think Australians should see this as an attack on Australia or Australians," he said, noting no symbolically Australian site had been targeted.
The attacks did not warrant Australia raising its terror threat level above the current "probable" level or restricting travel to Indonesia, which would be "counter-productive", he said. "I think we have to get used to the fact that these attacks are very occasionally going to occur."
Australian counter-terrorism police could do little to improve their close intelligence ties with their Indonesian counterparts. Indonesian police were also much better prepared for such attacks than at the time of the Bali bombings in 2002, Mr Fealy said.
"They have one of the best records in world of thwarting attacks and arresting terrorists."
Professor Greg Barton, from Deakin University, agreed the attack posed little domestic threat, but said it could inspire similar attacks across south-east Asia, including in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, where many Australians travelled. All three countries were vulnerable to the proliferation of more deadly weapons, particularly with large ungoverned spaces in Thailand and the Philippines.
This was the first time Indonesia had faced terror attacks that involved both guns and suicide bombers, Professor Barton said.
He said Australia and Indonesia should improve their joint efforts in deradicalising those convicted of terror offences, many of whom were due to be released this year.