Bondi royal commission hearing: ASIO boss says foreign interference under 'every rock' prior to Bondi attack — as it happened

The first day of the second block of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has wrapped up for the day. Thanks for following along.

You can catch up with the full day's events in our article below:

The witness said he was told in a phone conversation that NSW Police did not believe a static presence was required for Chanukah by the Sea, and another similar event in Dover Heights.

The man said he did not remember the specifics of the conversation, but believed he “would have tried to convince” NSW Police to rethink its decision.

He said he believed he told NSW Police there “would be a lot of unease” in the community without a static police presence for the entirety of Chanukah by the Sea.

Witness ABP, whose identity is also protected today, is now being questioned.

He is a chief operating officer at CSG NSW and is in charge of operational planning and delivery of protective security at Jewish communal sites and events.

Part of his role is to work with government agencies on security provision, the royal commission heard.

The witness is being asked about a phone call with a local police inspector about Chanukah by the Sea to request "static police resources".

"What I understand by static police presence is not tasking, so not patrol, so someone there permanently for the duration of the event," he says.

The witness says CSG estimates security-related costs set it back $12.5 million for third-party commercial guarding in NSW for this calendar year.

"It's an estimate based on our knowledge and understanding of commercial guarding across the community," he says.

"Part of it comes from the fact that we work very closely with certain community organisations."

The calculation is based on the number of guards at different venues at different times, against standard commercial rates.

CSG does not charge for the provision of its own security personnel.

CSG sent a "notification email" to NSW Police's Eastern Suburbs Area Command on December 8, just days before the terror attack.

It informed it of upcoming events in the area, saying its own terror attack assessment was deemed "likely" and requested "assistance with any policing measure".

While CSG sent out a handful of volunteers to Chanukah by the Sea, no-one was armed.

The royal commission has heard CSG's concerns about Hanukkah events last December.

"The details of known large and/or open air events scheduled to occur during Hanukkah are listed below," it read.

"These will be widely advertised online and printed in Jewish media."

On the list of events was Hanukkah by the Sea with expected attendance of 1,000 people.

CSG appealed to NSW Police "to ensure community safety".

The CSG threat assessment says "hostile acts [have] historically targeted Jewish and Israeli interests in retaliation for developments in the ongoing Middle East conflict".

It said "local entities perceived as affiliated with Israel" were targeted in particular.

Snippets of a CSG Hanukkah threat assessment are being read aloud to the royal commission.

"During the Hanukkah period, the likelihood of violent and/or antisemitic incidents is elevated due to the anticipated visibility of identifiably Jewish individuals in public spaces and the prominence of the festival in New South Wales," it says.

"The Jewish community is currently experiencing unprecedented levels of vilification and a significant increase in incidents impacting the community."

Counsel assisting the commissioner, Richard Lancaster SC, is asking about risk assessments before Hanukkah 2025.

The witness says there had been "extensive communications" between CSG and NSW Police and ASIO.

CSG produced a threat assessment for the period and sent 12 volunteers to the Chanukah by the Sea event last year.

But the group were not briefed on "specific or general threats" in relation to Hanukkah.

The witness says the state CSG branch shares its threat assessments with NSW Police.

"We all come together to talk in a formal sense about the threat to the community over the ... holiday period," he says.

"We provide a briefing to the police, and they usually provide a briefing to us."

However, briefings did not take place for Hanukkah celebrations.

CSG conducts its own risk assessment of sites or events.

It has its own "scale of threats" and the witness says the group produces "threat assessments for particular events or festivals".

CSG "very regularly" has interactions with law enforcement groups like NSW Police and ASIO.

"The level of engagement with both organisations increased materially after October 7th [2023]," the witness says.

"I would say that, although the structure and effectiveness of that working relationship can always be improved, my observation ... is that both of those organisations have been extremely reactive."

The next witness is from Community Security Group (CSG), who is speaking under pseudonym.

He is a senior officer at the NSW branch of the private organisation which offers security for the Jewish community.

The group is made up of volunteer "ushers" and security guards some of whom are licensed to be armed.

The counsel assisting has asked McCusker, with the benefit of hindsight, if it was a "good idea" for her command to prepare threat assessments for Hanukkah events.

"Yes, I see no reason why a threat assessment could not be completed for that event [Chanukah by the Sea]," she replied.

"I think it ensures the current threat environment is provided for that particular event."

She says NSW Police has been recommended to conduct such threat assessments for Hanukkah going forward.

An end-of-year holiday threat assessment was sent around the force on December 3, 2025 relating to major events like New Year's Eve and Anzac Day.

"You would expect, wouldn't you, that a document of this kind would also be taken into account by those making operational decisions on the ground, to the extent they received it?" counsel assisting the commissioner, Zelie Heger SC, asks.

"Yes, correct," McCusker replies.

"Including local tasking decisions over the whole holiday period?"

"Yes."

A NSW Police threat assessment was not prepared for the Chanukah by the Sea event in Bondi on December 14.

The commissioner has asked McCusker to clarify what the "community sentiment" was in the lead-up to Bondi.

She says community concern came from social media posts and public displays of hate symbols.

McCusker agrees in the months leading up to the Bondi terror attack, the "threat to the Jewish community remained".

She was asked in her view, if it was a "concerning level" in the lead-up to December 2025.

"Yes, it continued to be at a concerning level," she replied.

"Not only what was being reported [hate crimes], but the community sentiment."

The total annual hate crime incidents across all victim groups has also seen an increase over time.

McCusker confirmed an 8 per cent increase over time in 2020 up to 30 per cent in 2025.

Data collected by NSW Police by its hate crimes squad shows an increase in incidents reported by the Jewish community since 2020, the royal commission has heard:

• 2020: 40 incidents
• 2021: 59 incidents
• 2022: 118 incidents
• 2023: 353 incidents
• 2024: 445 incidents
• 2025: 841 incidents
• 2026 (first quarter): 287 incidents