After Bondi: The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion: What Must It Achieve?

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Join us for a panel featuring former Federal Treasurer The Hon. Josh Frydenberg, retired Federal Court judge The Hon. Ronald Sackville AO KC, and Human Rights Commissioner Dr Lorraine Finlay, hosted by CIS’s Peter Kurti.

On 14 December 2025, an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack at Bondi Beach killed fifteen people celebrating Hanukkah. In January 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. Many in the Jewish community, and the wider Australian community, had been calling for such an inquiry from the outset.

The Royal Commission is now underway, led by Commissioner the Hon Virginia Bell AC SC, with an interim report due at the end of next month and a final report scheduled for 14 December 2026.

The hard questions now begin. Will the Commission be too constrained by time, resources and the boundaries of its terms of reference to deliver the accountability and change the community expects? And with so much political attention surrounding the inquiry, can the Royal Commission maintain the independence and clarity needed to provide genuine answers?

The Centre for Independent Studies is undertaking a major three-year research program on antisemitism, intolerance and its impact on social cohesion in Australia, led by Peter Kurti, Director of the Culture, Prosperity and Civil Society programme at the CIS. Through original research, public forums and policy analysis, the project seeks a better understanding of the causes of rising antisemitism and to identify practical measures that can strengthen Australia’s civic compact.

This forum forms part of that wider program of work, bringing together leading voices from law, public policy and government to examine whether the Royal Commission is equipped to confront the challenge of rising antisemitism, and what its work will mean for the future of social cohesion in Australia.

Join us for a frank panel discussion about the questions the inquiry must confront and what meaningful outcomes would look like for Australia.

• The Hon. Josh Frydenberg served as Australia’s Federal Treasurer from 2018 to 2022 and was Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
• The Hon. Ronald Sackville AO KC is a retired judge of the Federal Court of Australia and one of the country’s most distinguished jurists. He was Chair of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.
• Dr Lorraine Finlay is Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner, appointed to the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2021.
• Hosted by: Peter Kurti, Director of the Culture, Prosperity and Civil Society programme at the Centre for Independent Studies.

This event will take place in the Theatrette at the Parliament of New South Wales, 6 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000. All visitors enter Parliament from Macquarie Street via a security screening station. This event is presented by the Centre for Independent Studies.