Australia will launch a royal commission inquiry into the Bondi Beach terrorist attack that killed 15 people, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Thursday, amid growing public pressure for answers.
"I've repeatedly said that our government's priority is to promote unity and social cohesion. And this is what Australia needs to heal," he told reporters, as quoted by AFP.
Sajid Akram and his son Naveed targeted Jews attending a Hanukkah celebration near the beach in an ISIS-inspired attack on December 14.
The federal royal commission, Australia’s highest-level government inquiry, will examine issues ranging from intelligence failures to the prevalence of antisemitism nationwide.
Victims' families, business leaders, sports figures and leading scientists had signed open letters demanding a sweeping investigation. Albanese had previously dismissed these calls, saying he was focused on "urgent action", but mounting pressure forced a shift.
"What we've done is listen, and we've concluded that where we have landed today is an appropriate way forward for national unity," Albanese said.
Royal commissions hold public hearings and can run for years. The Bondi Beach inquiry will be led by Virginia Bell, a widely respected former High Court judge.
One of the terrorists, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police during the attack. His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in prison and has been charged with terrorism and 15 murders.
Police and intelligence agencies are facing scrutiny over whether they could have intervened earlier. Naveed Akram had been flagged by Australia’s intelligence agency in 2019 but later fell off the radar after being deemed no imminent threat.
Albanese said a review into the security services’ response, due in April, will now be folded into the royal commission’s work.
Victims’ families wrote an open letter in December urging Albanese to "immediately establish a Commonwealth Royal Commission into the rapid rise of antisemitism in Australia".
"We demand answers and solutions," they wrote.
"We need to know why clear warning signs were ignored, how antisemitic hatred and Islamic extremism were allowed to dangerously grow unchecked, and what changes must be made to protect all Australians going forward."
Even before the Hanukkah massacre in Sydney, Australia had seen a sharp wave of antisemitism, including the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne.
Days after the arson at Adass Israel, a car was set on fire, and two properties were vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra, which has a substantial Jewish population.
In another incident, the words "F- the Jews" were spray-painted on a car in Sydney.
In early 2025, the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, a suburb of the city, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.
A day later, the Newtown synagogue, located in Sydney’s inner west, was vandalized with red swastikas that were spray-painted across the building’s front wall.