Concerns on intelligence failures and Federal police resources emerge following Bondi massacre

The union representing federal police warned the Albanese Government last month the force was suffering “chronic and worsening shortages” of counterterrorism officers and “already operating at the very edge of sustainability”.

As investigations continue into the Bondi massacre, Israeli media reports claim the country’s national intelligence agency, Mossad, also repeatedly alerted Australian authorities to potential Iranian and other terror plots against local Jews.

Now The Nightly can reveal that just weeks before Sunday’s terrorist attack, the Australian Federal Police Association wrote to the Finance Minister and to the Public Service Commission to outline concerns over staffing shortfalls.

Following reports the Government was implementing a “blanket 5 per cent reduction in discretionary spending” across Commonwealth agencies, the AFPA expressed its concerns to Senator Katy Gallagher in her capacity as Public Service Minister.

“The AFP continues to suffer chronic and worsening shortages in the specialist cohorts that matter most: cybercrime investigators, forensics examiners, child exploitation specialists, counter-terrorism officers and close personal protection teams,” AFPA President Alex Caruana wrote on November 26.

“Australia’s threat environment is not shrinking; it is expanding rapidly. The men and women of the AFP stand on the front line every day, and they deserve the resources required to keep doing so effectively.”

A separate document submitted simultaneously to the APSC noted that “AFP counterterrorism operations have increased by more than 280 per cent since 2015, reflecting a shift toward proactive disruption of domestic and offshore networks.”

“Without fundamental reform, the AFP will continue to train highly capable specialists at taxpayer expense only to watch them walk into higher-paying, lower-stress roles elsewhere,” the association warned.

“The cost is not just financial. It is measured in missed opportunities to disrupt terrorist networks, rescue exploited children, and counter foreign interference.

A modern national law enforcement and security agency cannot sustain capability when its employment framework remains anchored to a public-service model.”

In response, Senator Gallagher assured the AFPA that the Albanese Government had not issued any direction to Commonwealth entities to cut their budgets by 5 percent, but did not address concerns about current AFP staffing levels.

The Australian also reported this week that AFP senior leadership was warned internally last year that “severe staff shortages were making it impossible to keep track of terror suspects”.

It cited a three-page report written in May 2024 by the three commanders of the counter terrorism command, outlining the potentially dis­astrous impact of low staff levels and data showing “dangerously low staffing levels in the critical area of counter-­terrorism”.

An AFP spokesperson insisted the briefing paper provided to the executive had revealed an administrative error in the organisation’s draft internal budget process, and “once identified, the matter was immediately rectified.”

“The AFP continues to invest and focus on how it responds to terrorism, hate crimes and social cohesion,” the spokesperson said.

However, a longtime serving AFP figure tells The Nightly that the concerns raised in the report were “100 percent accurate” and claimed it was only after deadly terror incidents such as the Bondi attack that those in charge took notice.

“Unfortunately, large scale incidents of any type are the only thing that get the bean counters and government to listen to the need,requirement. We spend huge amounts in the Pacific to no effect and not enough on home soil,” the officer says, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

With renewed scrutiny of intelligence sharing processes following the Bondi attack there have also been fresh overseas reports that Israeli intelligence agencies warned Australian authorities about the potential for Iranian-linked terror plots against local Jews.

An Israeli source told the Haaretz newspaper that in the last few weeks, Israel has received information indicating plans to carry out attacks against Australia’s Jewish community, and it suspects that Iran is the one responsible for the attack.

The Jerusalem Post also reported on Monday that spy agency Mossad issued “a series of warnings” over time about Iranian links to anti-Semitic attacks in Australia and “terror infrastructure being built up in Australia”.