Australian Government Accepts All 14 Recommendations from Royal Commission into Bondi Beach Attack

Australia's government has committed to implementing all 14 recommendations from the interim report of the Royal Commission into Antisemitism, released on Thursday, April 30, 2026. The report, led by former High Court judge Virginia Bell, addresses the Bondi Beach terror attack on December 14, 2025, and includes five confidential recommendations due to national security concerns.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that a National Security Committee meeting agreed to implement all of Bell's recommendations.

The report found no urgent or immediate action needed regarding hindrances to agencies' ability to prevent or respond to the Bondi attack. It stated that no material or advice from any agency identified gaps in existing legal and regulatory frameworks that impeded law enforcement, border control, immigration, and security agencies from preventing or responding to the attack on December 14, 2025.

Bell urged the Commonwealth, states, and territories to prioritize a proposed national gun buyback scheme and an updated, nationally consistent National Firearms Agreement.

Among the public recommendations, New South Wales police procedures for Jewish high holy days should extend to other high-risk Jewish festivals and events, especially those with a public-facing element. The report also called for the Australian government to consider having National Security Committee ministers, including the Prime Minister, participate in counter-terrorism exercises along with all National Cabinet members within nine months of each federal election.

It recommended reviewing joint counter-terrorism teams in Australia and making the counter-terrorism coordinator's role full-time.

The Bondi Beach attack on December 14, 2025, occurred on the first night of Hanukkah, where two alleged Islamic State-inspired gunmen opened fire at a Jewish event, killing 15 mostly Jewish people and injuring 40 others. Sajid Akram, 50, was killed by police at the scene, while his son Naveed Akram, 24, was critically injured and later transferred from hospital to prison.

Naveed Akram has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one count of committing a terrorist attack.

The attack marked Australia's worst mass shooting in almost 30 years. Counter-terror funding fell sharply in the lead-up to the Bondi massacre. In 2022, ASIO director general Mike Burgess said espionage and foreign interference had overtaken terrorism as the nation's top security concern.

The royal commission was announced in January 2026, three weeks after the Bondi shooting. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese initially resisted calls for a royal commission after the December 2025 attack, stating it would create disunity. Instead, a review into intelligence and law enforcement agencies by former spy chief Dennis Richardson was initiated.

That review and a New South Wales state royal commission were folded into the federal inquiry following pressure from victims' families, politicians, public figures, and the community. Dennis Richardson quit his role as special adviser to the royal commission six weeks before the report's release on April 30, 2026. Richardson was paid $5500 a day in that role.

Legal reforms introduced after the Bondi attack included tighter laws on gun ownership and regulation, along with stricter hate speech legislation. Since 2022, the federal government's counter-terrorism coordinator has also served as the counter foreign interference coordinator. Hamish Hansford holds those roles and is head of national security within the home affairs department.

Public hearings for the royal commission began on Monday, May 4, 2026, focusing on defining antisemitism, its manifestations, and the lived experiences of Jewish Australians. The Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee should provide direct advice in written or oral briefings at least annually to the National Cabinet, according to the report.

A final report is due on the anniversary of the shooting.