Budget delivers extra $22 million for Jewish security
“Antisemitism doesn't belong here. Jewish Australians do,” says Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
The federal government will provide an additional $22 million to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) for Jewish community security, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced on Tuesday night as part of the 2026 Budget.
The new funding comes on top of the previously announced $102 million for Jewish community security, bringing total security funding to $124 million over three years.
The measures form part of a $604.2 million package over five years from 2025-26, with $8.1 million per year ongoing, to combat antisemitism, violent extremism and hate in Australian communities.
The package was announced in response to the December 14, 2025 Bondi terrorist attack, which killed 15 people during a Chanukah celebration.
“All of these decisions send the same message. Antisemitism doesn’t belong here. Jewish Australians do,” Burke said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers framed the package as central to the government’s national security agenda in his Budget Speech to Parliament.
“We’re also taking action to strengthen our national security and national unity since the devastating antisemitic terror attack at Bondi Beach,” Chalmers said.
“We’re adopting every recommendation from the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion’s Interim Report and fasttracking tougher gun laws through the National Cabinet.”
“There is $600 million for a new Counter Terrorism Online Centre, grants to support affected communities and money for our law enforcement agencies to crack down on the hate speech, violent extremism and terrorism which has no place in Australia.”
The government is also providing $46.7 million in support to the Jewish community, including for security and infrastructure upgrades, and grant opportunities to support priority projects, including a Chabad of Bondi project.
A further $207.4 million will combat antisemitism and violent extremism by countering terrorism threats online, preventing youth radicalisation, and funding public awareness and social cohesion campaigns.
The funding will also implement migration elements of the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026, including new visa refusal and cancellation grounds and character test provisions under the Migration Act 1958.
The package includes $218.9 million in immediate support to those injured in the Bondi attack, families of victims and the broader community, as well as $42.9 million for mental health support.
Additional security measures include $68.8 million for National Security Investigations teams, $25.1 million for stronger firearm import controls, $9 million to accelerate the implementation of the National Hate Crimes and Incidents Database, and $2 million for implementing the Prohibited Hate Group Listing Framework.
Together with the NSW Government, the federal government has provided $21.7 million in Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
The $22 million allocation to the ECAJ will be drawn from the Confiscated Assets Account.
ECAJ President Daniel Aghion has welcomed the additional funding, saying it would help the community meet what he described as massively increased security expenditure.
“The extra funds will greatly assist our community in meeting the massively-increased security expenditure which Jewish community organisations have been obliged to incur to address unprecedented threat levels,” Aghion said.
“The additional funding will be made available to the ECAJ over the next three years and will be in addition to the three-year $102 million in security funding that was already announced in December.”
Aghion said the impact of the Bondi attack had transformed the security landscape for Australian Jewry.
“The loss of so many lives on December 14 and the trauma inflicted on the community fundamentally altered our security environment.
At this stage, the level, duration, and intensity of security services that will be required by the Jewish community over the coming years cannot be quantified with certainty.”
“However, a total of $124 million in security funding over three years will undoubtedly go a long way, and we thank the government for acceding to our request and acting on our need.”
Aghion said broader societal change was needed to address the underlying problem.
“Based on the truly distressing evidence which has emerged from the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, it is clear that antisemitism needs to be attacked on a broad front by both government and major sectors of our society.”