A church in New South Wales, Australia, was victim of an arson attack on Saturday, when vandals also sprayed the words "ISIS" and "Allah Akbar" onto the side of the church, according to Central Western Daily.

The entrance of Saint Peter's Lutheran Church was targeted by vandals on Saturday, who also threw a Molotov cocktail through the window.

A bin outside the church was also set alight.

Brenden Turner, the Local Area Command Supervisor Sergeant, said a crime scene has been established at the church and "the area is being forensically examined."

"This is a serious crime; the fact that someone's tried to burn down a church," he said.

"As with any incident like this involving a church, other people (outside of the Canobolas LAC) need to be notified."

It is being treated as a case of vandalism not terrorism.

The Lutheran Church's New South Wales Bishop Mark Lieschke said "it saddens me to learn that that has happened, no matter what the graffiti was on there or what church it was, that churches are targeted like that, it's sad to know that."

He said it was unclear why churches were targeted: "I think there are times when people misunderstand, what churches stand for or do in the community.

"They're just a public target, they just seem to be there for people to act in this way."

Police are investigating the incident and have appealed to anyone who has any information to come forward.