Key expert departments didn’t advise on whether to hold a royal commission

Home Affairs and the Attorney-General’s department had made no recommendations to their ministers about whether to hold a royal commission — at the same time Anthony Albanese was declaring his experts had advised against one, The Nightly can reveal.

The Prime Minister came under intense pressure soon after the December 14 Islamic State-inspired shooting at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration to hold a royal commission into the terror attack and the rise of anti-Semitism.

NSW Premier Chris Minns swiftly announce his State would launch an inquiry with royal commission powers.

But Mr Albanese instead commissioned former ASIO and Defence head Dennis Richardson, a week after the attack, to review the role and interaction of security agencies and police, and whether there had been any intelligence failings or gaps in the law.

Eventually, after calls from notable figures across business, sports, legal and community organisations, on January 8, the Prime Minister caved to the mounting pressure.

He appointed Virginia Bell to lead a year-long royal commission and rolled Mr Richardson’s snap review into that.

Her interim report, covering the work Mr Richardson was doing until he quit in March, was released on Thursday.

Back in summer, while the pressure was growing for a wider-ranging inquiry with stronger powers, Mr Albanese staunchly defended his initial choice for an administrative review.

“The actual experts, who are the current experts, have all recommended this course of action. And we are following the advice that we receive from authorities who are in 2025 dealing with this atrocity,” Mr Albanese told reporters on December 30.

But key departments who are now involved in the royal commission had not made any recommendations either way on the form of inquiry, The Nightly can reveal.

The Attorney-General’s Department has responsibility for helping to establish and supporting all royal commissions.

But by January 5 — three days before Mr Albanese announced the royal commission and its terms of reference — the only document the department had about inquiry options was a set of talking points for Attorney-General Michelle Rowland.

The talking points, dated December 21, the same day the Richardson review was announced, said that “the Commonwealth Government is working in lock-step with NSW and supporting the actions it is taking”, the document released under freedom of information shows.

“My Department is highly experienced in supporting state-based inquiries and royal commissions. My Department will play a leadership role in coordinating across the Commonwealth to support the inquiry,” her officials suggested Ms Rowland reply to questions about royal commissions and the NSW inquiry.

There were no other ministerial submissions, briefings, or communications between Ms Rowland and her department regarding a royal commission or other options for a Federal inquiry into the Bondi attack, according to the FOI search.

Home Affairs is also deeply involved with both the response to the Bondi attack and the royal commission, since minister Tony Burke has oversight of ASIO and the AFP.

Questions have arisen about the role of the department’s immigration and border security sections and whether flags should have been raised about the alleged shooters Naveed and Sajid Akram’s trip to the southern Philippines.

Despite this, Home Affairs responded to a separate freedom of information request by saying it had made six ministerial submissions between December 14 and January 5 that mentioned Bondi — but none of them outlined or recommended options for a royal commission or other forms of inquiry or review into the terrorist attack.

The department searched its files for submissions that mentioned “Bondi”, “Review”, “Inquiry” “Royal Commission”.

“I am satisfied that the searches conducted were extremely thorough and all reasonable steps have been taken to locate any document relevant to your request,” a Home Affairs official told this masthead.

“No documents were in the possession of the Department on 5 January 2026.”

Shadow Home Affairs minister Jonno Duniam said after the release of the royal commission’s interim report that it had been clear the Government had refused to consider the broader inquiry for too long.

“They were dragged to holding a royal commission kicking and screaming by all and sundry across the community including and especially by the Jewish community who had been let down for more than two years by this government in the lead up to the Bondi massacre,” he said.

“Of course, this being the worst terror event ever to occur on Australian soil in our history, it is something not to be taken lightly and it required nothing short of a royal commission.”