Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, 08 January 2026. During the press conference, Albanese announced the establishment of a royal commission on antisemitism, in response to the Bondi beach terrorist attack. Photo by Lukas Coch/EPA
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday announced an independent investigation into antisemitism in the Oceania nation following last month’s Islamic State-inspired Bondi Beach terrorist attack that killed 15 people and wounded 40 others.
A meeting of the federal cabinet approved Albanese’s plan for a Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, the prime minister said during a press conference.
“This royal commission is the right format, the right duration and the right terms of reference to deliver the right outcome for our national unity and our national security,” he said.
“Of course, a royal commission is not the beginning of the end of what Australia must do to eradicate anti-Semitism or protect ourselves from terrorism or strengthen our social cohesion. That’s an ongoing national effort for all of us as individuals, but also institutions because an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on all Australians.”
A royal commission is the highest form of independent public inquiry on matters of public importance and is only established by the Australian government in rare and exceptional circumstances.
Anti-Semitism has been rising in Australia for several years, but this form of hate further spiked following the start of the Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7, 2023, with a notable increase in anti-Semitic incidents recorded in the two years that followed. Then on Dec. 14, two gunmen opened fire on a crowd celebrating the first day of Hanukkah at Australia’s iconic Bondi Beach tourist site.
Fifteen people were killed and 40 wounded, the deadliest terrorist attack in the country’s history.
The shooting was carried out by a father-son duo, who authorities said were inspired by Islamic State ideology. The 50-year-old father was fatally shot by police at the scene. The 24-year-old son was wounded and hospitalized and has since been charged with 15 counts of murder.
Albanese announced the commission following weeks of pressure from the Jewish commity calling for one to be established.
The prime minister on Thursday said the commission will be tasked with four missions: investigating antisemitism and its key drivers, in institutions and society; issuing recommendations for law enforcement, border control, immigration and security agencies, examining the circumstances surrounding the Bondi Beach terrorist attack; and offering any other recommendations to strengthen social cohesion and counter ideologically and religious motivated extremism.
The commission is to be led by former High Court Justice Virginia Bell, with a report to be presented to the government by the end of the year.
“I’ve said repeatedly that our government’s priority is to promote unity and social cohesion and this is what Australia needs to heal, to learn, to come together in a spirit of national unity and to go forward knowing that just like people who gathered that night on Bondi Beach were committing to that light will prevail over darkness,” he said.
“It’s clear to me that a royal commission is essential to achieving this.”
Jewish leaders have been calling on Albanese to establish a royal commission for weeks, with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry stating it is “critical” for the government and society to understand the sources of anti-Semitism that have affected their community over the last two years.
The council said that only through a federal royal commission, encompassing the entire nation, could this be possible.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, Albanese pushed back on the notion that his government was resisting their calls, saying his focus was on “urgent matters.”
Following the shooting, Albanese has called for several initiatives, including a hate speech crackdown and the launch of a new gun buy-back program. He also launched an independent review into Australia’s federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
“As prime minister, I respect people’s views and I listen to them. I take the time to choose the right path, the course of action that will make a positive difference to our country,” he said.
“I’ve taken the time to reflect, to meet with leaders in the Jewish community, most importantly, I’ve met with many of the families of victims and survivors of that horrific attack in homes, in synagogues, at the governor-general’s, in community events.”
The ECAJ said Thursday that the government “has made the right decision” in establishing the commission.
“This is the only way that Australia’s time-honored standards of decency and fairness can be upheld,” ECAJ President Daniel Aghion KC said in a statement.
