Latest information on Bondi Junction tragedy

Published 16 April 2024

This has been a deeply distressing event for our community. From my conversations, people want full transparency and to stay informed.  If you have any questions, please reach out to my office at vaucluse@parliament.nsw.gov.au

CANDELIGHT VIGIL

A candlelight vigil will be held on Sunday 21 April to allow the community to come together and honour the victims of the Bondi Junction tragedy.

The vigil will begin at 5:30pm on Sunday in Dolphin Court, Bondi Beach - south of the Bondi Pavilion.

There will be a one-minute silence in honour of those whose lives were lost.

Attendees are asked to bring their own candle to take part in the vigil and kindly take candles home at the end of the evening.

WESTFIELD REOPENING 

Westfield Bondi will be re-opened in phases from Wednesday 17 April in a respectful and considered approach that acknowledges the broader needs of our community.

A Community Reflection Day will be held tomorrow Thursday 18 April at Westfield Bondi.

Retailers will not be trading on this day.

Members of the public are invited to visit the centre in their own time between 11:00am and 5:00pm. Condolence books will be made available in an online format and hard copy. The centre will be on ‘quiet time’ settings.

Mental health counsellors from EAP Assure and Lifeline and other community partners will be available for people to speak with if they wish.

On Friday 19 April the centre will be re-opened with the normal trading hours of 9:30am to 6:00pm.

OVERVIEW OF SUPPORT

• NSW Police have assigned a Family Liaison Officer to support each impacted family of the deceased.
• Victims can access support through the NSW Government’s Victims Support Scheme. Please see below for more detailed information.
• Westfield is providing mental health and counselling support for their staff, retailers and customers by phone, online and in person.
• NSW Health have specialist disaster-trained clinicians at Bondi Junction.
• The NSW Mental Health Line is available 24/7, with specialist staff available to speak to anyone affected by the attack. Call 1800 011 511.
• Members of the community can also contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
• Mental health services have also been activated for first responders.

VICTIMS SUPPORT SCHEME

The Victims Support Scheme provides counselling, financial assistance and a recognition payment to victims of an act of violence in NSW.
Support is available through the scheme for the families of those who have lost their lives and those who have been affected by the violent acts at Bondi Junction.

What support is available?

• Counselling to help victims recover from the psychological and emotional impacts of a crime.
• Financial assistance for immediate needs to help cover urgent health, safety or security expenses resulting from the violent crime.
• Financial assistance for economic loss to cover other expenses resulting from a violent crime.
• Assistance to pay for funeral expenses on behalf of family members of a homicide victim.
• A recognition payment to acknowledge the violent crime.

Who can access victims support?
The type of support available for those who have been impacted by the acts of violence at Bondi Junction will depend on their situation:

Primary victims who have been injured:
• Counselling
• Financial assistance for immediate needs
• Financial assistance for economic loss
• A recognition payment.

Secondary victims who are witnesses can access counselling.

A parent, step-parent or guardian of a child who was injured can access financial assistance for economic loss that directly resulted from the act of violence, and counselling.

Family victims (an immediate family member of a homicide victim) can access:
• counselling
• financial assistance for immediate needs
• financial assistance for justice-related expenses
• financial assistance to help with funeral expenses of the victim
• Eligible family victims may also receive a recognition payment.

A relative of a homicide victim, not considered a family victim, who is affected by the victim’s death (extended family member) can access counselling.
For more information on how to access support.

A dedicated phone line for victims of the Bondi Junction incident has been established. Please call 1800 019 123 from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

ONLINE SAFETY

Under the Online Safety Act, the eSafety Commissioner can issue compulsory removal notices to online services in relation to ‘class 1’ material. This category includes depictions of real violence that are gratuitous or offensive, and that show a very high degree of impact or detail.

eSafety activated their on-call team to respond to the events of Saturday. Over the course of several hours, the team identified around 50 videos, the details of which were shared with the platforms for removal against their terms of service.

They welcome reports from the community, which can be made at www.esafety.gov.au/report.

They have a fact sheet for parents who are concerned about children accessing or being exposed to violence online, especially in the wake of an event like Bondi Junction. The sheet includes links to resources instructing parents to get started with parental controls, and also provides links the excellent state-based Parentline service. Here is the link: https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-10/What-to-do-if-you-see-distressing-content-online-Fact-sheet.pdf.

More broadly, there is a wealth of advice about online safety generally for parents at www.esafety.gov.au/parents.

PUBLIC CONDOLENCES AND MEMORIALS

National Flags: National flags are flying half-mast today. Our community, state and country are in mourning. 

Public Memorial: The best place to lay tributes is at the top of Bondi Junction Mall, outside the West Elm shop on Oxford Street. There are physical condolences books that can be signed at the same location. 

Online Memorial: For those who wish to leave a message, the NSW Government has published an online condolence book. This is for the families and friends of loved ones who lost their lives, those who were injured and the first responders including NSW Police and emergency services personnel. You can fill that out here: Bondi Junction condolence book | NSW Government

MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

For those impacted or distressed about the horrific events at Bondi Junction, please know support is available:

LIFELINE - 13 11 14 - www.lifeline.org.au

BEYOND BLUE - 1300 22 4636 - www.beyondblue.org.au

13 YARN - 13 92 76 - www.13yarn.org.au

KIDS HELPLINE - 1800 55 1800 - www.kidshelpline.com.au

NSW MENTAL HEALTH HOTLINE - 1800 011 511