Australian court overturns protest limits after Bondi Beach attack

A law clamping down on protests following an anti-Semitic mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach was overturned by a court on Thursday, a written ruling showed.



Activists had challenged the New South Wales legislation, enacted 10 days after the attack on Dec 14, 2025, which killed 15 people and wounded dozens at a beach-side Hanukkah festival.



The law gave police the power to restrict public assemblies in declared areas, making it impossible to get a permit for any protests and allowing officers to order people to move away.



The state government pushed for the crackdown to protect cohesion and community safety at a time of high tensions, the Court of Appeal heard.



But the legal provisions were “constitutionally impermissible”, Chief Justice Andrew Bell found in a written ruling.



They effectively discouraged all forms of protest in the declared area, irrespective of the purpose and possible impact on social cohesion.