Killer being deemed fit for gun license prompts call for review as key findings, failures are revealed after Westfield Bondi Junction massacre

Warning: Distressing content. A coroner has called for a review into whether people with psychotic illnesses should be given access to firearms after Bondi killer Joel Cauchi was declared fit for a gun licence years before his fatal rampage. Cauchi, who killed six people and injured another 10 during a stabbing attack at Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13, 2024, was issued a statement of eligibility for a weapons license years before. Psychiatrist Sagir Parkar deemed him fit for a weapons license after assessing him in January 2021. Cauchi told the psychiatrist he wanted to practice target shooting, with Dr Parkar believing Cauchi wanted “an opportunity to socialise”, Dr Parkar revealed during his evidence at last year’s inquest. Cauchi, who lived with schizophrenia, had told Dr Parkar he had been on an antipsychotic drug for just two years before he was put on another, but in reality he had taken the antipsychotic for 15 years until he was weaned off it entirely in 2018. He ceased taking another antipsychotic the following year, leaving him unmedicated from July 2019 until his death. The true extent of Cauchi’s medication history was only discovered by Dr Parkar when he contacted the clinic of Cauchi’s former psychiatrist, Andrea Boros-Lavack, with it also noted during the inquest that he was given limited information by the clinic. Dr Parkar called the discrepancy between Cauchi’s account of his medical history and his records “unusual”, and later agreed with submissions it was a “red flag”. Fresh footage released during a coronial inquest has captured the moment the "bollard men" ran with Inspector Amy Scott, armed with a chair and trolley, towards killer Joel Cauchi before he ran at the officer. He ultimately wrote Cauchi a medical certificate for a weapons license, conceding at the inquest that in hindsight he should not have. It was “very fortunate” that Cauchi did not follow through with a gun license, counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer SC told the inquest, particularly given evidence from his internet search history that suggested a “very significant deterioration of his mental health”. The country’s peak psychiatry body has now been asked to liaise with the Queensland and NSW Police services to probe whether people with chronic mental health disorders that involve psychotic episodes, such as schizophrenia, should be given access to firearms. The suggestion was one of 23 recommendations made by NSW Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan on Thursday following last year’s five-week coronial inquest into the tragedy. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) and police should examine the nature and role of psychiatrists in assessing the fitness for weapons licensing through a working group, which should also assess the appropriateness of the psychiatry body’s current firearms risk assessment. Review of ‘confusing’ laws after Cauchi called cops on dad A review of “confusing” legislation regarding the ability of police officers to detain people for emergency health assessments has also been flagged by the coroner after Cauchi called the police on his parents the year before the attack. Cauchi called police to his parents’ Toowoomba home in January 2023 claiming his father had stolen his knives. He had pushed his dad after noticing the knives were gone, with his father having given the pigging knives to a friend over concerns about his son’s health. No charges were laid. Cauchi’s mother, Michele, was “asking for help”, one of the responding officers told the inquest, with Michele saying her son needed to go to hospital during body-worn footage played in court. CCTV has captured the moment police spoke with Bondi killer Joel Cauchi after he accused his father of stealing his knives in the year before the fatal Westfield Bondi Junction attack. But the officers told the inquest they believed they had no powers to take Cauchi for an emergency assessment as he was not deemed a risk to himself. This was a result of changes to the Emergency Examination Authority (EEA) in 2017, which were repeatedly described as “confusing” during the inquest. The officers ultimately requested a follow-up be carried out on the Cauchi family at a later date, however the email slipped through the cracks in what was described as a “missed opportunity”. Ms O’Sullivan said the officer who missed the email was a “competent, committed and responsible police officer who overlooked a single email amidst a significant workload and limited resources”. A better system for follow-up has since been put in place. The coroner has asked that Queensland Health consider amending the legislation to refer to people at “immediate risk of harm to others” instead of solely relying on “immediate risk of serious harm to self”. The example in the provision should be expanded beyond suicide, and the definition of “serious harm” should also be further clarified in any amendment. It was clear Cauchi needed an EEA “at some point in time”, QPS manager of the vulnerable persons group Inspector Bernard Quinlan said during the inquest, agreeing the legislation’s terminology was confusing and that amendments were required. “It paints a clear picture that there was a need for an emergency examination at some point in time,” Inspector Quinlan said last year. Mr Quinlan stood by the officer’s actions, and Ms O’Sullivan ruled the officers acted reasonably. Among her other recommendations were a suite of mental health reforms, and a decision to refer Cauchi’s former psychiatrist, Andrea Boros-Lavack, to Queensland’s Health Ombudsman for review of the care she provided to Cauchi. This includes amendments to RANZCP’s guidelines on schizophrenia disorders, the creation of a guideline about “deprescribing” psychotic medications, and establishing long-term accommodation with easily accessible mental health care, given Cauchi was homeless by the time of the fatal attacks. Dawn Singleton, Yizuan Cheng, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, Ashlee Good, Jade Young and Pikria Darchia were all killed by Cauchi before he was shot dead by Inspector Amy Scott, the tragedy marking one of Australia’s worst massacres. news.com.au mental health helplines