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The federal government’s counter-terrorism coordinator should be a full-time position, and the prime minister and national security ministers need training in responding to terrorist incidents, an interim royal commission report has found.
The interim report of the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion has handed down 14 recommendations – five of which remain classified – to the government on Thursday morning.
The commission was established in the wake of the December’s Bondi massacre, in which two alleged Islamic State-inspired gunmen shot and killed 15 people and injured 40 others as they attended a beachside Hanukah event for the Jewish community.
But the report found there was no gap in current laws that stopped the potential for the terrorist attack from being known in advance, or that impeded authorities’ response.
“No material or advice from any agency identified any gap in the existing legal and regulatory frameworks that impeded the ability for law enforcement, border control, immigration and security agencies to prevent, or respond to, an attack of the kind that occurred at Bondi on 14 December 2025,” the report said.
“No Commonwealth or state intelligence or law enforcement agency has suggested that it was prevented from taking prohibitive actions before or on 14 December 2025 by the then current legislative and authorising framework.
“In these respects, no issue requiring urgent or immediate action has been identified.”
However, the commission said it has received a “considerable body of material” that “has revealed aspects in which counter-terrorism capability at Commonwealth and state levels could be improved”.
Among the key recommendations from the report is that the “procedures adopted by NSW Police in respect of Operation Jewish High Holy Days should apply to other high risk Jewish festivals and events, particularly those that have a public facing element”.
The report states that, since 7 October 2023, there has been an “increase in the occurrence and reporting of antisemitic incidents has led to a significant increase in contact between relevant NSW Police Commands” and the Jewish safety organisation, Community Security Group NSW.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the government would implement all of relevant recommendations.
“I can confirm that the national security committee has met this morning and we have adopted and will implement all the recommendations of the interim report that are relevant to the commonwealth,” Albanese said.
The interim report said the commission had not yet reached any conclusions about intelligence failures or police resourcing before the attack.
“While systemic aspects of the effectiveness of Commonwealth and state intelligence and law enforcement … are addressed in this interim report, important issues arising from the Bondi attack, including whether there was any failure to identify and act upon intelligence in the lead up to it, or in the allocation of police resources to the Chanukah event, will be addressed in hearings,” the report said.
“No conclusion in these respects can be reached on a review of the agencies’ documents alone and in the absence of according procedural fairness to any person or agency at risk of an adverse finding.”
Commissioner Virginia Bell said it was likely that evidence about potential intelligence and national security failures would need to be heard in closed hearings.
It also recommended that the Australia-New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee commission a review of joint counter-terrorism teams, which are made up of state and federal police along with Asio. That review should examine information-sharing arrangements between agencies, with a “particular focus on the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team-NSW”.
Since 2022, the federal government’s counter-terrorism coordinator has also been the counter foreign interference coordinator. The person in the roles, Hamish Hansford, is also the head of national security within the home affairs department.
The report argued these additional responsibilities “take up significant time, even if, at time, that other work intersects with counterterrorism work”.
“There may well be a logical reason for the counterterrorism coordinator to have responsibilities in respect of countering foreign interference … however, in light of the terrorist attack in Bondi, and given the importance of the coordination work and convening role of the counterterrorism coordinator, consideration should be given to the role being undertaken on a full-time basis.”
It also recommended that ministers should be better prepared to respond to unfolding terrorism crises.
“The Australian Government should consider whether National Security Committee ministers, including the Prime Minister, should participate in a counter-terrorism exercise, along with all National Cabinet members, within nine months of each federal election.”
A former justice of the high court, Bell was appointed to lead the royal commission after the Bondi terror attack, with the commission’s interim report heavily focused on intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
The report – released ahead of public hearings next week – has relied on information given to the commission through submissions, notices to produce, and private meetings.
The first block of public hearings are slated to start Monday, and will focus on experiences of antisemitism.
The commission was established in the wake of the December’s Bondi massacre at a beachside Hanukah event.
Naveed Akram, 24, faces 15 charges of murder and 40 of attempted murder in relation to the attack. His 50-year-old father, Sajid, was shot dead by police.
