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The prime minister has confirmed his government will call a federal royal commission into the alleged Bondi terror attack, with Anthony Albanese backflipping on an earlier stance against a wide-ranging Commonwealth inquiry.
Albanese announced on Thursday the federal commission will examine four key areas, including the prevalence of antisemitism, how law enforcement will respond to antisemitism, the circumstances surrounding the alleged Bondi attack and strengthening social cohesion.
In a press conference, Albanese defended not calling a federal commission sooner, and told media he had been listening to the wide calls for a commission.
“Our government’s priority is to promote unity and social cohesion, and this is what Australia needs to heal, to learn, to come together in a spirit of national unity and to go forward knowing that just like people who gathered that night on Bondi beach were committing to that light will prevail over darkness, it’s clear to me that a royal commission is essential to achieving this,” said Albanese.
“I’ve taken the time reflect, to meet with leaders in the Jewish community and most importantly, I’ve met with many of the families of victims and survivors of that horrific attack.”
Albanese said there would be only one royal commission, and said the New South Wales premier – who has already announced a state inquiry – would have “more to say” on his state’s position. The royal commission will report before 14 December 2026.
Following growing calls from families of the Bondi victims, Jewish community groups, and politicians across the nation including his own Labor caucus, the prime minister had in recent days backtracked on his earlier reluctance to such an inquiry. The shooting at a Hanukah event in Bondi, allegedly carried out by a father and son inspired by ISIS, claimed the lives of 15 people.
The former high court justice Virginia Bell has been named to lead the commission to investigate antisemitism and the Bondi attack. Bell, who was appointed counsel on NSW’s Wood royal commission into the police service in 1994, has also served as a judge on NSW’s supreme court and court of appeal, and on the high court from 2009 to 2021. She was also commissioned by Albanese’s Labor government in 2022 to investigate former prime minister Scott Morrison’s secret decisions to appoint himself to multiple ministerial portfolios without the knowledge of the ministers in those roles.
Albanese said an intelligence review by the former Asio chief Dennis Richardson would now feed into the federal royal commission, with the commission to provide an interim report in April.
“This royal commission is the right format, the right duration and the right terms of reference to deliver the right outcome for our national unity and our national security,” Albanese said.
The prime minister and his cabinet had for several weeks rebuffed growing calls for a royal commission, saying such inquiries would take too long, would provide a platform to antisemitic hate, and were not good avenues to consider issues “where people have differences of views”.
It followed a mounting public pressure campaign from across Australian society, including an emotional open letter from families of most of the Bondi victims calling for a royal commission into the attack and the broader issue of antisemitism in Australia.
The federal Coalition and others in parliament have backed calls from Jewish community groups for an inquiry to investigate antisemitism, with broader calls for a probe into questions about intelligence, law enforcement and firearms laws.
One of the alleged shooters, Naveed Akram – who has been charged with dozens of offences including 15 counts of murder – had been investigated by Asio in October 2019 for alleged associations with individuals involved in a reported Islamic State cell. His father was later approved for a gun licence.
Albanese had previously resisted a commonwealth royal commission, saying federal authorities would cooperate with the royal commission ordered by the NSW state government. The federal government instead called a narrow inquiry, led by Richardson, into the national intelligence and law enforcement community – a step the former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who has led calls for a royal commission, rubbished as “bullshit”.
Albanese had previously said that a federal royal commission would take too long and that he wanted quicker answers about changes needed to intelligence or policing agencies.
