President's message | December 2025

The Jewish community has a right to be safe and to feel safe. They have the right to practice their religion, to express their identity and to live their lives in our nation in peace and safety. Antisemitism has corroded these rights. Sunday’s mass murder terror attack has shattered them.

Amidst the grief, trauma and anger, it is right to ask how this could have happened and how we can make sure it never happens again.

There needs to be a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into whether the attack could have been prevented and into the effectiveness of law enforcement responses. The investigation should look at how the two men became radicalised and the role rising antisemitism played in their radicalisation.

More broadly, it’s clear that more needs to be done to address rising antisemitism in Australia.

This requires a coordinated, national whole of society approach across government, workplaces, education, media, justice, health and the arts. The Australian Government’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, released her plan to address antisemitism in July. The Prime Minister yesterday announced the Government’s response to the plan including five key actions to address antisemitism.

A number of key recommendations of the Special Envoy’s plan align with recommendations from the Commission’s National Anti-Racism Framework, including:

* Stronger education and training

* Addressing online mis and disinformation and vilification

* Improved data collection and monitoring and evaluation of actions, and

* Strengthening laws to address racism, vilification and other hateful or intimidating conduct.

On law reform, we need to move beyond laws that place the burden on individual people having to complain to address discrimination and hate speech often at great personal cost. We need a stronger focus on preventing racism and more effective action on hate speech.

The Commission’s forthcoming national study into racism at universities will provide critical data on the extent of antisemitism affecting students and staff. It will outline recommendations on how to address it, and all forms of racism, on campus.

Every form of racism has unique and common aspects. Effective action on racism requires shared foundational approaches supported by specific targeted responses that are led and designed by the affected communities.

There is an urgent need to implement these and other recommendations. It is good to see the Australian Government act. This is the moment for us to take decisive, evidence-informed action to address antisemitism and all forms of racism. By doing so, we can address the hatred and prejudice that harms people and communities and leads to violence. We can ensure a united society where everyone can live in safety and equality, proud in their culture, faith and identity.

Finally, this is our last newsletter for the year. To all the partners and communities we have worked with this year, thank you for your support and engagement. The tragedy at Bondi underscores the importance of working together to protect the values we all share; freedom, respect, equality, dignity, kindness, thinking of each other and looking out for one another.

I hope you are able to get some time away with loved ones over the holiday season and look forward to working with you next year to advance human rights and help build a fairer, safer and more just Australia.

Media contact

Email: media@humanrights.gov.au or phone: 0457 281 897