Royal Commission hands down interim report on Bondi terror attack

Commissioner Virginia Bell AC SC handed down the 159-page report today, meeting a deadline set when the inquiry was established in January. The report examines the threat environment before the 14 December 2025 attack, in which two ISIS-inspired gunmen opened fire on a crowd of 1,000 people celebrating Chanukah at Archer Park, Bondi Beach. Fifteen people were killed and 40 wounded.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Attorney General Michelle Rowland held a press conference this morning welcoming the report and announcing the Government has adopted and will implement all recommendations relating to the Commonwealth, and will work with the states and territories to ensure a nationally consistent approach to implementation.

The Prime Minister acknowledged that Bell found “Australia’s existing legal and regulatory frameworks did not hinder our agencies in preventing or responding to the Bondi attack, and that no urgent changes are required to keep Australians safe”, but said the recommendations “go to enhancing our national counter-terrorism arrangements and capabilities”.

But the question of whether agencies acted adequately on available intelligence, and whether NSW Police’s assignment of just four officers to the 1,000-person Chanukah event was appropriate, will be tested in public hearings over the coming months.

The report paints a troubling picture of the known threat environment in the months leading up to the attack. ASIO had raised the National Terrorism Threat Level to ‘PROBABLE’ in August 2024, warned of a “disturbing escalation” in antisemitic incidents, and assessed that the Iranian government had directed attacks on Jewish interests in Australia. Yet the Commission found that the proportion of intelligence community funding allocated to counter-terrorism “significantly declined” across all agencies between 2020 and 2025, even as overall budgets grew.

Among the public recommendations, Bell calls for NSW Police to apply its rigorous High Holy Days security protocols to all major Jewish public events, for the Counter-Terrorism Coordinator role to be made full-time, and for National Cabinet ministers to participate in counter-terrorism exercises within nine months of every federal election. The Commission also urges the Commonwealth and states to prioritise a new National Firearms Agreement and a National Gun Buyback Scheme.

Five recommendations remain classified, with the Government saying it “will respond swiftly” and that “Australians will see practical outcomes through a range of policy, program and funding measures”. An entire chapter on agency activities in the lead-up to the attack is also withheld, pending the criminal trial of the accused, who faces 59 charges including terrorism and 15 counts of murder.

Attorney General Michelle Rowland encouraged Australians to make submissions to the Commission, noting more than 3,500 had already been received from individuals and organisations. “This is critical to ensuring the Royal Commission’s work is thorough, credible and impactful,” she said. Submissions remain open until at least the end of May.

Rowland also pointed to two support services for those wishing to engage with the inquiry: a free national legal advice service, run by National Legal Aid and the Jewish Centre for Law and Justice, and a legal financial assistance scheme administered by her department for individuals and entities formally required to participate. Further information is available through the Royal Commission’s website.

The Royal Commission will hold its first hearing block in Sydney between Monday 4 May and Friday 15 May. Bell’s final report is due on 14 December 2026 — the first anniversary of the Bondi attack.

Header image: Commissioner for the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion Virginia Bell delivers the Interim Report to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion to Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn at Government House, Canberra Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Credit: AAP Image/Lukas Coch)