PM Anthony Albanese rejects counter-terrorism cost-cutting measures as AFP makes admission

The Prime Minister has expressed “full confidence” in the Australian Federal Police after revelations that a Canberra-based surveillance team used in counter-terrorism operations was disbanded over budget concerns just weeks before the Bondi massacre.

During a visit to flood affected North Queensland, Anthony Albanese again insisted the AFP had “record funding” from his Government and hit back at suggestions that any efforts to monitor dangerous extremists had been wound back last year.

The AFP later admitted “consideration was given to a reallocation in line with strategic and operational priorities”.

“There is record funding for the Australian Federal Police. Record funding,” Mr Albanese said when questioned about The Nightly’s exclusive report detailing internal AFP deliberations about the future of its mobile “national surveillance team”.

“One of the things that has been instituted by the Police Commissioner under her watch is increased funding for flying squads as well to deal with these issues in a really urgent way and in a way that has been very effective”.

When pressed further about the dismantling of the mobile Canberra team, Mr Albanese declared: “those reports are not correct. I have full confidence in the Australian Federal Police and I think it’s appropriate that we back them in the job that they do”.

However, in a letter sent last September and seen by The Nightly, a senior AFP figure tells affected staff that “current budget pressures and the lack of certainty in relation to ongoing funding has limited our ability to fill vacancies.”

“Whilst funding for eight positions was confirmed in February 2025 for the 2025-26 financial year, this did not meet the requirements for 10 members under AFP best practice,” the commander of Covert and Technical Operations, Intelligence and Covert Services wrote.

When The Nightly first asked the AFP about the move and if any other squads had been disbanded around Australia the organisation responded that it “does not comment on surveillance capabilities”.

Shortly after the PM’s comments on Tuesday however, the AFP released a statement.

“There is no correlation between the heinous terror attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025 and the decisions made in relation to the use of High-Risk-Terrorist-Offenders (HRTO) funding”.

“The AFP received additional non-ongoing funding in 2023 as part of a New Policy Initiative to assist in managing HRTO, which has been extended into FY 2025-26,” an AFP spokesperson said.

“Managing convicted terrorists subject to a court-imposed supervision order is an AFP responsibility with resources directed where convicted terrorists are geographically released into the community. There have been no persons released on supervision orders into the ACT.”

“As part of the AFP’s continual assessment of specialist capabilities against operational demand, consideration was given to a reallocation in line with strategic and operational priorities.”

“The AFP maintains specialist capabilities – including surveillance – to support counter terrorism and other AFP and ACT Policing priorities, including in the ACT-geographic area,” the spokesperson added.

Other AFP figures have told The Nightly that budgets for covert operations around the country were reduced late last year, meaning that work outside of regular rostering patterns was not being completed.

“Surveillance copped it hard – it means that you work on a target until your 9-hour shift is complete – but nothing further, no matter what the target was up to,” a veteran AFP officer in covert operations claims.

“It has not helped morale to say the least, let alone effectiveness”, he adds.

The Opposition has seized on the latest concerns emerging from inside AFP ranks, with shadow Home Affairs minister Jonathan Duniam declaring they raise “serious questions which the government must now answer”.

“When numerous AFP sources have indicated that resourcing is a major concern around the capacity of the good men and women who form part of the service being able to do their job, of course a reduction in resources squarely aimed at counter terror measures must have had some impact,” he said.

Mr Albanese’s latest endorsement of the AFP and Commissioner Krissy Barrett comes as former spy chief Dennis Richardson completes a snap inquiry into the actions of Australia’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies before the Bondi shootings.