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 secret – 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”.
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, Virginia 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, in which two gunmen shot and killed 15 people and injured 40 others as they attended a beachside Hanukah event for the Jewish community.
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.
– More to come