Key Points
- An interim report from the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has been handed to Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government "will do everything necessary to protect the community".
An interim report from the Royal Commission into Antisemism and Social Cohesion has found Australia's counterterrorism laws do not require urgent reform in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack.
However, security agencies are expected to face a non-public grilling to identify intelligence failures or resourcing gaps in the coming months.
On Thursday morning, commissioner Virginia Bell handed the partially redacted interim report to Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
It examines "the circumstances surrounding the antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach" in which two gunmen killed 15 people and injured 40 others.
The interim report has made 14 recommendations, which Albanese said the government will adopt and enact in full.
Those include applying higher security procedures during all high-risk Jewish festivals in NSW and making the counterterrorism coordinator a full-time role.
Five recommendations by Bell and several other sections have been redacted from the public report and are contained confidentially for national security reasons and to "avoid prejudice to current criminal proceedings".
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged that the Jewish community was "craving answers" about what happened on 14 December.
"A small number of recommendations are classified because they could compromise sensitive national security information, but I can assure the Australian public that the government will do everything necessary to protect the community," he said.
"Commissioner Bell has found that our 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."
Intelligence agencies and police to face closed hearings
Chapter 8 of the report focuses on legislative frameworks, stating "no agency" has urged legislative reforms "to prevent, detect or respond to an attack of a similar nature to the Bondi attack".
It adds that current laws did not prevent "intelligence or law enforcement agencies from taking action that may have prevented the Bondi attack".
While no legal framework gaps were identified for immediate action, the commission did not reach a conclusion on whether there were intelligence failures or issues with police resource allocations.
Bell said a conclusion could not be reached based on the agencies' submissions alone, stating that closed hearings would need to be conducted.
It includes examining whether there was adequate funding for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) "in the deteriorating security environment".
The interim report found that funding for ASIO increased by 37 per cent between 2020 and 2025, however, allocations to counterterrorism "significantly declined".
State participation key to firearms reforms
Albanese called on states to "engage constructively" to review firearms regulations and implement a National Buyback Scheme, which would purchase surplus as well as illegal guns.
"There are two of the recommendations [that] make it clear that we should progress with nationally consistent gun reform," he said.
States faced a 1 April deadline to sign up for the reforms, which would see them pay for half of the buyback scheme.
The NSW backed the reforms quickly; however, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory have all ruled out their support.
Western Australia completed its own buyback scheme in January, Tasmania is setting up its own scheme, while Victoria, which agreed to participate, is awaiting a review to commit fully.
The report also recommends a review of Joint Counter Terrorism teams, urging police commissioners to submit a report on the leadership structures, team integration, and information-sharing arrangements within three months.
The first block of public hearings is expected to start on Monday and will focus on experiences of antisemitism, with the commission receiving more than 3,500 submissions already.
The full report will be handed down no later than the first anniversary of the attack on 14 December 2026.
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