$5,500 a Day for Research: Former Spy Chief Quits Royal Commission Into Bondi Terror Attack

Dennis Richardson said he had full confidence in the Royal Commission’s ability to get to the bottom of the Bondi terror attacks.

Former special advisor to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, Dennis Richardson, speaks to the media during a doorstop interview at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on March 12, 2026. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Former intelligence chief Dennis Richardson has explained his abrupt departure from the Royal Commission into the Bondi Beach terror attack, saying the decision to merge his initial security review into the Commission left him “surplus to requirements.”

Richardson, a former director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and senior diplomat, resigned just weeks after the inquiry began.