Former ASIO chief raised questions about scrutiny of Bondi gunmen
Former ASIO chief Dennis Richardson raised concerns about the rigor of early assessments of Bondi Beach gunman Naveed Akram before resigning from the royal commission investigating the December 2025 terrorist attack. Internal reviews by ASIO and the AFP found no intelligence failures, but questions remain about resource allocation and policy responses to Islamist extremism. The royal commission is set to release its interim report, highlighting weaknesses in counterterrorism and responses to antisemitism.
- ▪Dennis Richardson questioned the thoroughness of ASIO's 2019 assessment of Naveed Akram and whether he and his father were adequately reassessed before the attack.
- ▪ASIO and the AFP conducted internal reviews and found no intelligence failure or negligence leading up to the Bondi attack.
- ▪ASIO maintains its 2019 assessment that the Akrams did not support IS or pose a terrorism threat at the time, despite later radicalization.
- ▪The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion will table an interim report identifying gaps in counterterrorism and social cohesion policies.
- ▪Naveed Akram was charged with terrorism and 15 counts of murder; his father Sajid was killed by police during the attack.
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Former ASIO chief questioned scrutiny of Bondi gunmen before quitting royal commissionSBy Sean Rubinsztein-DunlopABC InvestigationsTopic:TerrorismWed 29 Apr 2026 at 5:35amWed 29 Apr 2026 at 5:35amWed 29 Apr 2026 at 5:35amDennis Richardson quit the royal commission in March, fearing he would have little influence over its recommendations. (ABC News: Nick Haggarty, file photo)In short:Former ASIO director-general Dennis Richardson questioned the thoroughness of early assessments of Bondi Beach gunman Naveed Akram before resigning from the royal commission investigating the December terrorist attack.Internal reviews by ASIO and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) found there was no intelligence failure or negligence that allowed the Bondi attack to happen.What's next?The royal commission…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at ABC News (Australia).