Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to be reviewed after Bondi attack

Former intelligence chief Dennis Richardson will lead a review of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to examine their performance in the lead-up to last Sunday’s Bondi Beach terrorist attack.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Sunday that the review would be based in his department and be made publicly available when it is finalised in April 2026, staving off the Coalition’s calls for a royal commission to interrogate any federal failures.

“The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will examine whether federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies have the right powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe in the wake of the horrific antisemitic Bondi Beach terrorist attack,” Albanese said in a statement released late on Sunday morning.

“The ISIS-inspired atrocity last Sunday reinforces the rapidly changing security environment in our nation. Our security agencies must be in the best position to respond.”

The announcement was foreshadowed on Saturday when Albanese lent his support to a state-based royal commission, after NSW Premier Chris Minns said the powers of a wide-ranging inquiry were needed to determine what went wrong in the lead-up to the events of last Sunday.

Calls for a national royal commission, led by the federal opposition and other MPs including Wentworth MP Allegra Spender, have grown over the past week. But government ministers have played down the need for such an investigation, saying it would take too long and draw resources away from law enforcement.

Spender, whose electorate of Wentworth takes in Bondi, said on Saturday that a federal investigation should accept public submissions and be developed in consultation with the Jewish community, but have broad-ranging investigatory powers akin to a royal commission.

The opposition is also escalating its campaign for a national inquiry, and will on Monday outline the 25 terms of reference it wants for a broader royal commission into antisemitism in Australia.

In addition to investigating the circumstances of the Bondi attack, the Coalition wants a royal commission to probe antisemitism in universities, the arts and cultural sector, the Australian Human Rights Commission, and media reporting about Israel and the Middle East.

It wants to investigate the effectiveness of prevention programs related to Islamic extremism; whether immigration policy is stopping people with antisemitic views coming to Australia; security at places of worship; school education; and the role of social media platforms in facilitating extremism.

“A state inquiry is fine but insufficient, only a Commonwealth royal commission can deliver real accountability,” said Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

“If the prime minister does not confront the causes of the Bondi massacre with honesty and resolve, the victims of this terrorist attack and their families will be denied the justice they deserve.

“Nothing is off limits. No institution is beyond scrutiny. Antisemitism is not a state problem. It is a national failure. That is why this inquiry looks across every level of government and every part of civil society.”

The government’s new review builds on announcements already made by the federal government over the past week in response to the attack, including the biggest gun buyback since the Port Arthur massacre almost 30 years ago, work with the states to impose strict limits on the number of guns a person can own, and a five-point plan to combat antisemitism.

Former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who has been outspoken in his criticism of the federal government’s response, said on social media platform X that the internal departmental review of law enforcement and intelligence agencies was “wholly inadequate”.

“To use an Australian colloquialism it’s bullshit. It’s weak, it’s wrong, it’s an abrogation of your first and fundamental duty to protect.”

Nationals leader David Littleproud told Sky News he believed Albanese did not want a federal royal commission because of what it might uncover. “We should look at the failings of decisions made at a political level, at intelligence levels. And many of these agencies are at a federal level,” he said.

Minns would not be drawn on the issue. “We’re holding one in NSW. We think it’s absolutely important that we do that. Whether it happens at the Commonwealth level or not is a matter for the Commonwealth government,” he told Channel Nine’s Today program.

“But they’ve said that their agencies and organisations will be available to whatever state-based inquiry takes place.”

Albanese said on Sunday that the intelligence and law enforcement review would build on previous work done on the Independent Intelligence Review.

Richardson has served as secretary of both the Defence and Foreign Affairs and Trade departments as well as Australia’s ambassador to the United States.

The national security committee of cabinet continued to meet over the weekend and cabinet will reconvene on Monday.

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