Confidence decreases on safety of all faiths

More than half of Australians feel less confident that people of all faiths and backgrounds can live safely in this country since the Bondi Beach terrorist attack, according to new national polling commissioned by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM).

The survey found 52 per cent are less confident, against 15 per cent who are more confident and 32 per cent who reported no change. Among women, 59 per cent said they were less confident, compared with 44 per cent of men.

The proportion of Australians who say councils are doing enough to address ethnic and religiously motivated intolerance has halved, falling from 40 per cent in 2025 to 21 per cent. Those unsure rose from 12 per cent to 32 per cent, while 47 per cent said councils should be doing more, close to the 49 per cent recorded a year earlier.

Sixteen per cent said they had seen or heard of an antisemitic incident in their local area in the past 12 months, up from 12.5 per cent in 2025. Reported awareness was higher among younger respondents, with between 23 and 24 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds reporting incidents, against nine per cent of those aged 65 and over. It was also higher in metropolitan areas, at 19 per cent, than in regional areas, at 10 per cent.

Asked to describe general public attitudes towards Jewish people in Australia, 30.5 per cent said they were negative, up from 28 per cent, while 29 per cent said they were positive, up from 24 per cent. Those unsure fell from 14 per cent to eight per cent.