PM announces review of intelligence and law enforcement in wake of Bondi attack

Australia's federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies will be reviewed to assess whether they have appropriate powers and processes in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.

In a statement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the review would be completed in April and published.

"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," he said.

Dennis Richardson, the former head of ASIO and of the departments of defence and foreign affairs, will lead the review through the prime minister's own department.

Focused on federal agencies including ASIO and the AFP, the review will examine the "powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements in place to keep Australians safe".

The move was foreshadowed yesterday and follows calls for a broader royal commission covering antisemitism and other questions related to the attack.

Government frontbenchers had downplayed the need for a royal commission, saying these typically took a long time.

The announcement of a review comes after a meeting of the National Security Committee in Canberra on Sunday.

The committee, comprising senior ministers, has met daily since the attack. The government has announced a series of new measures including a review of hate speech laws and a gun "buyback".

Sunday is a national Day of Reflection to mark one week since the attack targeting Jewish Australians attending a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach and killing 15.

Mr Albanese will attend a service at the site on Sunday evening alongside NSW Premier Chris Minns and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

The opposition has criticised the review, which Home Affairs spokesperson Jonathon Duniam said was "a sad turn of events".

"Anthony Albanese never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity … we should be having a full Commonwealth royal commission," he said.

Burgess supports review, hits out at 'unfounded' criticism

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who has responsibility for ASIO and the AFP, has expressed "full confidence" in the work of both agencies prior to and following the attack.

In a statement, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess welcomed the review and said his agency would "fully cooperate".

"I expect the findings will give the public confidence that ASIO acts appropriately, legally and proportionately to protect Australians," he said.

"This is why I told the prime minister I supported a review."

Mr Burgess said he had also started an internal review, which he would make public, but defended his agency against some public criticism he said was "unfounded".

"If ASIO is found to have made mistakes, we will own them and we will learn from them.

"As I have said many times, ASIO is not all seeing and all knowing. Tragically, in this case we did not know about the attack before it happened.

"That is a matter of grave regret for me and my officers. It weighs on us heavily. But that does not necessarily mean there was an intelligence failure or that my officers made mistakes.

Mr Burgess said the review would allow the agency to "refute" claims that it "failed to pass on relevant intelligence, defunded and de-prioritised counterterrorism, and "purged" our experienced counterterrorism officers. None of these claims are true".

The AFP Association, the union for the agency's staff, wrote to Finance Minister Katy Gallagher last month voicing concerns about "chronic and worsening shortages" in key areas including counterterrorism.

Asked about resourcing last week, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett noted both she and Mr Burgess had been "on the record many times … in relation to the operating environment, how quickly it has changed and how complex it is for us".

"That means we are constantly assessing, reassessing and prioritising where we put our resources and what we put our resources too," she said, emphasising that counterterrorism remained a high priority.

"Where I do need more resources, I do and will have those conversations with government."

Mr Richardson spoke to the ABC's AM last Thursday saying there "will need to be a full and proper inquiry of some sort".

The former bureaucrat said it was important to avoid "jumping to conclusions".

"I think at this point after a terrorist incident, you've always got a lot more questions than answers," he said.

"[ASIO] would certainly be looking back at what they knew and what they did, however overwhelmingly their resources would be devoted to the terrorist attack."

Coalition calls for royal commission

The Coalition has consistently called for a royal commission covering not just intelligence agencies, but also the broader policy response to antisemitism and other issues related to the attack.

The NSW government announced its own intentions for a royal commission on Saturday.

Senator Duniam noted there had been a "full and comprehensive intelligence review" just last year, which Mr Albanese said the new process would draw on but which Senator Duniam said made it unnecessary.

"We don't need another internal review," he said.

"'[It is] a weak response to something that requires a much heavier response indeed."

In a statement on Saturday, independent MP Allegra Spender, whose electorate covers Bondi, said there should be a "thorough inquiry into causes, accountability, and future action" and that it should have "investigatory powers akin to a royal commission" regardless of its name.

Responding to the announcement on social media, Ms Spender said the inquiry amounted to "the government investigating itself" and "won't cut it", saying an independent inquiry covering federal and state governments was needed.

David Littleproud repeated calls for a royal commission in a Sky News interview on Sunday morning, saying it should "look at the failings of decisions made at a political level [and] at intelligence levels".

Mr Richardson told the ABC on Thursday he was "agnostic" about a royal commission.

In a statement on X, former Liberal treasurer and prominent Jewish Australian Josh Frydenberg said a departmental review was "wholly inadequate".

Mr Frydenberg, who has been fiercely critical of Mr Albanese this week for his response to antisemitism, said resistance to a Royal Commission "beggars belief and is the latest failure in federal leadership".

"Your departmental review will not go to the heart of the issues and the radicalisation within our country, which has been allowed to explode on your watch," he said.

"Anti-Jew intimidation, harassment and violence has metastasised in our country and must not be allowed to go one day longer.

"The tsunami of hate is not just an attack on Jewish Australians, it's a threat to every Australian. Prime Minister enough is enough!"