Bondi Beach Shooting Royal Commission - Criminal Defence Lawyers Australia

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Recently, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for a Royal Commission into the heinous 14 December 2025 shooting at Bondi beach and Antisemitism in Australia. Here we cover the essential details you need to know about the Royal Commission and upcoming key future dates.

Table Of Contents

Bondi Beach Shooting News
Bondi Beach Shooting Victims and Death Toll
Why is the Bondi Beach Shooting Royal Commission Called For?
What is a Royal Commission?
What is Antisemitism?

Bondi Beach Shooting News

The Prosecution statement of facts alleges that Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, who resided in the suburb of Bonnyrigg, Sydney, booked an AirBnB in the suburb of Campsie, Sydney, telling family that they were away on a fishing trip or holiday in southern NSW.

On Sunday, 14 December 2025, the pair travelled from Campsie to Bondi Beach in Sydney Australia armed with three firearms, which Sajid Akram had legal access to with valid firearms licence.

At the time, an event known as “Chanukah by the Sea” attended to by about a 1000 people at Archer Park in North Bondi, Sydney, organised to celebrate the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah was underway. The event was publicly advertised and scheduled between 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM.

From about 6:50 PM, the father and son pair fired a large number of gunshots into the gathering. As the crowd ran for their lives, the pair shot into the surrounding areas.

Bondi Beach Shooting Victims and Death Toll

The offenders killed 15 people, including a ten year old child. 40 people including at least two police officers were critically injured during the attack. The assailants threw handmade pipe bombs into the crowd, but the bombs failed to detonate.

Police shot both gunmen, killing Sajid Akram and critically injuring Naveed Akram, who now stands charged with a plethora of serious offences, including the following:

15 counts of murder pursuant to s 18 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), each count carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment;
1 count of commit terrorist act pursuant to section 101.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth), with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment;
40 counts of attempted murder, pursuant to section 27 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), each count carrying a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment;
1 count of discharge firearm with intent pursuant to section 33A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), carrying a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment.

A full list of the charges, and ongoing Court updates can be found on the Australian Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution’s website here.

As a summary, the Prosecution have so far located CCTV footage of the assailants movements in the lead up to the attack, including footage of the pair visiting relevant parts of Bondi beach in what appears to be an exercise that involved planning and premeditation.

Footage of what will be alleged to be the pair carrying guns wrapped in blankets from their Air BnB in Campsie to the car has also been obtained. Videos and photos of the pair undertaking militant style training in the Philippines, as well as videos recorded by the pair documenting their allegiance to extremist ideologies is also part of the prosecution brief of evidence.

The shooting was motivated by antisemitism, with the pair deliberately targeting the Jewish community on the first day of Chanukah. The attack was motivated by an allegiance to Islamic State (ISIS). ISIS flags were seized from the car used by the assailants to travel from Campsie to Bondi. Police allege that Naveed Akram and his father Sajid Akram adhere to an extremist Islamic ideology.

In 2019, Naveed Akram drew the attention of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) for his association with an ISIS youth recruiter. The recruiter was later jailed for nearly four years for encouraging Australian minors to launch terror attacks. Naveed Akram was investigated by ASIO for 6 months. ASIO ultimately assessed Naveed Akram as not posing “ongoing threat” or “immediate threat,” and no action was taken.

Why is the Bondi Beach Shooting Royal Commission Called For?

Initially, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was resistant to public calls for a Federal Royal Commission into the Bondi terror attack. Instead, Albanese announced for an independent review into the actions and failures of Australia’s security and Intelligence Agencies, to be led by former spy chief Dennis Richarson. The Federal government was also working efficiently to strengthen hate speech laws, and to implement recent recommendations made by antisemitism envoy Jillian Sengal. The Government was considering the involvement of security agencies to determine the issue on the issuing of firearms licenses.

However, after mounting public pressure, Albanese confirmed that he will now hold a Royal Commission into the Bondi terrorist attack, acknowledging that a Royal Commission was the best way to examine all of the circumstances relevant to the tragic massacre. The Richardson Review, which was scheduled to report back to the Government in April 2026, will now be wrapped into the Royal Commission interim report.

The Letter Patent, dated 9 January 2026, sets out four key areas of inquiry in the Bondi terrorist attack Royal Commission, namely:

Tackling antisemitism by investigating the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in institutions and society, and its key drivers in Australia, including ideologically and religiously motivated extremism and radicalisation;
Making recommendations that will assist law enforcement, border control, immigration and security agencies to tackle antisemitism, including through improvements to guidance and training within law enforcement, border control, immigration, and security agencies to respond to antisemitic conduct.
Examining the circumstances surrounding the antisemitic Bondi terrorist attack on 14 December 2025.
Making any other recommendations arising out of the inquiry for strengthening social cohesion in Australia and countering the spread of ideologically and religiously motivated extremism in Australia.

The Letter Patent directs Former High Court Justice and lead Commissioner of the Royal Commission, Virginia Bell, to hand down an interim report on 30 April 2026, and a final report by 14 December 2026 on the first anniversary of the terrorist attack.

What is a Royal Commission?

A Royal Commission is an independent formal public inquiry. It is the most authoritative and powerful form of inquiry that can be called for in Australia on matters of significant public importance. A Royal Commission is usually tasked with reporting why a specific event happened, who is accountable, and make findings and recommendations to change policies and laws to avoid similar events occurring in the future.

A Royal Commission determines its own procedures, and has broad powers to gather evidence and information, including:

Summonsing witnesses to give evidence;
Issuing notices for a person to give a statement in writing, provide information, a document or a thing to the Commission;
Holding formal public or private hearings;
Meeting with stakeholders and undertaking research, for example, by holding a roundtable;
Inviting submissions from the public or engaging in other community engagement activities;
Holding private sessions, which are confidential interviews between an individual and a Commissioner to understand someone’s personal experience in a trauma informed setting.

The information gathered by the Royal Commission is usually pubic, except if gathered through a private session, in which case there is limited disclosure. Hearings are usually open to the public and the media. The information and evidence form the basis for the Royal Commission’s ultimate findings, which are published in a final report.

A Royal Commission is established through what is known as a Letter Patent. This is a formal document issued by the Governor General of Australia.

The Letter Patent outlines the scope of the inquiry, known as the Terms of Reference. The Terms of Reference set out the primary areas which will be the focus of the investigation, as well as the timeline for the inquiry to be completed.

The Letter Patent appoints a Commissioner or multiple Commissioners to conduct the inquiry.

The Letter Patent specifies the key reporting dates, including the due date for the final report. The final report is tabled in Parliament after it has been provided to the Governor General. It is then published online.

The Government usually provides a formal response to the final report, including how it will respond to the Royal Commissions findings and recommendations. If a Royal Commission finds that laws have been broken, this can form the basis for civil or criminal litigation against the party responsible for the breach.

What is Antisemitism?

Antisemitism is also known as jewish-hatred hostility. It encompasses discrimination against and prejudice to the Jewish community. It is motivated by negative perceptions of Jewish people reflected in the demonstration of hostility or discrimination against Jewish people or Judaism as a religious, racial or ethnic group.

By Hana Seraphim and Jimmy Singh.

Published on 19/01/2026