Bondi Royal Commission: Report Calls for Gun Reform and Better Policing

Former High Court judge Virginia Bell has delivered an interim report from the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion, identifying critical failures in security assessments prior to a December 2025 terror attack at Bondi Beach in Australia.

The report examines the circumstances surrounding a shooting on December 14, 2025, during a Sunday afternoon event marking Hanukkah at a Bondi Beach park. The attack resulted in the deaths of 15 people.

The perpetrators were identified as a father and son. Sajid Akram, 50, was killed by police at the scene of the shootings. His son, Naveed Akram, 24, was critically injured during the attack and later transferred from a hospital to prison. Naveed Akram has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist attack.

Security Warnings and Police Response

The interim report reveals that New South Wales (NSW) police received specific warnings regarding the threat level facing the Jewish community before the attack. On December 8, 2025, the Jewish security group CSG NSW sent an email to the NSW Police advising them of upcoming Jewish events and requesting specific policing measures.

According to the report, the email explicitly stated that the security alert level for the Jewish community was HIGH and that a terrorist attack against the NSW Jewish Community is likely and there is a high level of antisemitic vilification.

Despite this warning, the royal commission found that NSW police appeared not to have completed a comprehensive risk assessment for the Chanukah by the Sea festival at Bondi Beach.

Recommendations for Reform

Commissioner Bell outlined 14 recommendations in the interim report, although only nine of these have been made public, with five remaining classified in a confidential version of the report.

The public recommendations include a call for greater coordination of policing at Jewish festivals and events. Specifically, the commission suggests extending the policing arrangements currently used for Jewish high holy days to other Jewish events.

The report also emphasizes the need for national gun reform. It calls on the commonwealth and state governments to finalize nationally consistent gun laws and to prioritize a proposed gun buyback modeled after the response following the Port Arthur massacre.

Additional recommendations regarding national security include:

• Converting the federal government’s counter-terrorism coordinator into a full-time position.
• Conducting a review of joint counter-terrorism teams across Australia.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that a National Security Committee meeting has agreed to implement all of the recommendations provided by Commissioner Bell.

Scope of the Inquiry

The royal commission, which was announced in January 2026, is described as Australia’s most powerful form of public inquiry. While the interim report found no gap in current laws that could have prevented the shooting, the inquiry continues to examine the responsiveness of government and security agencies.

The commission has clarified that it will not interview Naveed Akram due to the ongoing criminal proceedings. The report indicates that the motivations of the alleged shooters will not be examined in public forums.

Instead, the inquiry will focus on whether the government and police responded with sufficient seriousness to terrorism threat warnings issued by intelligence agencies.