Submission - Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion

Executive summary

1. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes the opportunity to engage with the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion (Royal Commission). This submission builds on the AHRC’s interim submission provided on 2 April 2026.
 
2. This submission will address clauses (a)(i), (a)(ii), (a)(iii), (a)(iv), and (b)(i) of the Letters Patent – Royal Commission on antisemitism and social cohesion (Letters Patent).  
 
3. Recent work by the Commission has highlighted the pervasive nature of racism in Australia, which causes real harm to people every day. Racism has a long history here, beginning at first contact. It is entrenched in Australia’s systems, structures and institutions.  
 
4. Moments of crisis expose and intensify racism.i Antisemitism in Australia surged after the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas and the subsequent war in Gaza.  

5. The AHRC has heard from people about their lived experiences of antisemitism in Australia - its nature and its impact on people and communities. These experiences are discussed in detail in section 2 of this submission.  

6. They include stories of antisemitism in workplaces, education settings, and the media. Antisemitism on social media was identified as a matter of priority concern. Antisemitism in political discourse was also raised. 
 
7. The impact of the rise in antisemitism has been and continues to be severe. It has caused profound pain and distress and added weight on communities that have carried the trauma of experiences of vilification and discrimination for generations.

8. Antisemitism harms individuals and communities – affecting people’s identity and self-esteem, health and personal security, their sense of belonging and inclusion in communities and their participation in public life.

9. Many shared with the AHRC that this burden has been compounded by the responses to antisemitism they and those in their community have experienced.z
 
10. Government action, or the lack of it, to address antisemitism was identified as a compounding factor. Policing was flagged as an area in which antisemitism is little understood, where official responses are inconsistent or where sometimes there is no action taken at all. Some perceived the justice system as failing to adequately act against antisemitism and protect targets from harm.

11. The horrific terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025 is the worst antisemitic event ever seen on our shores. It shows how racial hatred can escalate into horrific violence, causing profound grief, trauma and loss for the Jewish community and others across the nation.

12. The terms of reference of this Royal Commission focus on addressing antisemitism and the Bondi attack. Our submission responds to this focus. Importantly, the Royal Commission’s terms of reference include examining measures to strengthen social cohesion in Australia more broadly. In this regard, it is important to recognise that other forms of racism have surged in Australia in recent years, including racism against First Peoples, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism. Each form of racism has both common and unique aspects. We need to comprehensively address all forms of racism in Australia. This will promote social cohesion. Our submission addresses these issues.

Recommendations

13. The AHRC supports strong legal protections against racism. Legal responses alone cannot address the complex social, cultural and technological factors that drive antisemitism. Policy, education and community led initiatives should work alongside legal frameworks to address antisemitism and strengthen inclusion.

14. Tackling antisemitism requires a multi-pronged approach focused on prevention, effective response mechanisms and institutional accountability.

15. Our recommendations are holistic and connected. They complement each other and address different aspects of this approach:

* The National Anti-Racism Framework provides overarching policy guidance for addressing racism across the Australian community and within government. It forms a foundational response to racism and supports tailored targeted policy initiatives to address antisemitism and other unique forms of racism.  
* Reformed, modernised federal discrimination laws will create more effective protection against antisemitism and other forms of racism and prejudice. This should include establishing federal legal protection against religious discrimination.
* Legislating a Digital Duty of Care will help to address racism and hatred online.  
* Protecting human rights by establishing an Australian Human Rights Act will help to address racism and hatred, promote social cohesion and provide a framework for balancing rights such as freedom of expression and freedom from hate speech when they intersect.

16. The AHRC submits that the Royal Commission should make the following recommendations in its report.

Recommendations

1. The Australian Government should immediately establish a task force or similar mechanism to determine prioritisation and sequencing of each of the recommendations of the AHRC’s National Anti-Racism Framework to address antisemitism and all forms of racism. The task force or similar mechanism should develop and oversee implementation plans for those priority recommendations. The task force or similar mechanism should be co-chaired by the Race Discrimination Commissioner and a Secretary (representing the Australian Government’s Secretaries Board), with senior government membership from across federal, state and territory jurisdictions, and relevant peak organisations. The Australian Government should provide funding for identified priority recommendations.

2. The task force or similar mechanism or, if this is not established, Australian governments should consider the following recommendations of the National Anti-Racism Framework as a priority:

a. Recommendation 20 regarding mandatory workplace anti-racism training in government workplaces
b. Recommendation 43 regarding review of anti-racism and cultural safety training within the justice system
c. Recommendation 28 regarding mandatory professional development for primary and secondary school staff on racism and building capability to discuss it
d. Recommendation 29 regarding nationally consistent anti-racism resources and educational materials for staff and students in curricula that focus on recognising and rejecting racism including contemporary forms of racism  
e. Recommendation 33 regarding funding public awareness and education on anti-racism for the community sporting sector, in partnership with the Australian Sports Commission

3. The Australian Government implement the following priority recommendations of the National Anti-Racism Framework:

a. Recommendation 25 regarding developing nationally consistent standards for employers and employees to report experiences of racism and racial discrimination in the workplace
b. Recommendation 59 regarding adopting and funding a National Anti-Racism Data Plan
c. Recommendation 60 regarding collecting data about experiences of racism, including systemic and structural racism, in ongoing national surveys

4. Australian governments implement the following priority recommendations of the National Anti-Racism Framework:  
 
a. Recommendation 61 regarding funding the Australian Human Rights Commission, anti-discrimination and human rights bodies, and work, health, and safety agencies to collect intersectional data under their respective mandates
b. Recommendation 62 regarding the commitment of ongoing and adequate funding to existing or prospective third-party reporting mechanisms that take an anti-racist approach to collecting data about racism as it affects different communities

5. The Australian Government should strengthen the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) by legislating the following amendments:

a. Introduce a positive duty requiring government agencies, service providers, employers and persons conducting a business or undertaking to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, racial discrimination and racial vilification, consistent with Recommendation 10 of the National Anti-Racism Framework.  
b. Introduce additional powers for the AHRC to assess compliance with, and enforcement of, the positive duty, consistent with Recommendation 11 of the National Anti-Racism Framework
c. Amend the victimisation provisions (sections 18AA and 27) to bring them in line with other federal anti-discrimination laws.  
 
6. The Australian Government should amend the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) to remove the requirement in s 46POA for representative organisations to obtain the written consent of all represented individuals to commence proceedings in the federal courts.

7. The Australian Government should introduce offences for promoting or inciting racial hatred or superiority on the basis of race, colour or national or ethnic origin in the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) that achieve full compliance with Article 4(a) of ICERD and withdraw Australia’s reservation from ICERD.

8. The Australian Government should introduce laws to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion.

9. The Australian Government should continue investment in digital and AI literacy across all levels of education, and in the community, to equip people with the skills necessary to critically navigate information environments.

10. The Australian Government should ensure funding and support for civil society organisations working in the areas of digital rights (including online safety) in order to ensure independent research, education and engagement in this area.

11. The Australian Government Digital Duty of Care should require social media platforms to identify, assess and mitigate foreseeable risks arising from recommender systems and monetisation practices that incentivise the amplification and normalisation of antisemitism and other racist narratives.

12. The Australian Government should provide additional core funding to the Australian Human Rights Commission to resource:

a. the Investigations and Conciliation Service to process the high volume of complaints and to conduct conciliations in a timely manner
b. expanded education, community engagement and awareness activities to provide information about how to make complaints and the complaints process under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth).

13. The Australian Government should legislate a national Human Rights Act, in line with the recommendations of the Free & Equal report.