Philippine authorities have confirmed to the media that the father accused of killing 15 people at Bondi Beach last week travelled to the country in November on an Indian passport.
Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval has confirmed to The Australia Today that,
“Sajid Akram, 50 arrived in the Philippines on Indian passport, together with Naveed Akram 24 last November 1, 2025 from Sydney, Australia.”
Both reported Davao as their final destination. They left the country on November 28, 2025 on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination.
They left on 28 November, with Davao listed as their final destination before connecting to Manila on their return, the Philippines Bureau of Immigration told Bloomberg.
The purpose of the visit remains under investigation.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed to the media that the father and son’s trip to the Philippines had not been flagged by intelligence agencies, but said this did not indicate a failure.
“The reason that the Akrams travelled to the Philippines, where they went, is unknown at this stage and subject to the investigation,” he said.
Earlier, Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke indicated the father held permanent residency in Australia, without giving details of his nationality. Burke said he arrived in the country on a student visa in 1998. Later, in 2001, he transferred to a partner visa and subsequently obtained a Resident Return Visa after trips overseas. The son, he said, is an Australian-born citizen.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there is growing evidence the Bondi Beach attack was inspired by Islamic State ideology. “What we know already is that it goes to motive and what is being investigated,” he said.
“It would appear that there is evidence that this was inspired by a terrorist organisation, by ISIS. Some of the evidence being procured, including the presence of Islamic State flags in the vehicle that has been seized, are part of that.”
Commissioner Lanyon also clarified earlier reports about Sajid Akram’s firearms licence. He first applied for a licence in October 2015, but it lapsed in 2016 without being finalised. A second Category AB licence applied for in 2020 was issued in 2023, and the seized firearms were properly registered under this licence.
Investigators have recovered homemade explosives and two homemade Islamic State flags at the crime scene.
The attack has shocked those who knew the shooters. Lachie, a Sydney bricklayer who worked with Naveed Akram for several years, said he was horrified to see his former colleague implicated in the massacre. “It made me feel a bit sick that I spent so much time with someone, for them to be a monster like that,” he told A Current Affair.
Naveed Akram, critically injured in a shootout with police, remains under hospital guard. He was not on a terrorism watchlist but had previously been investigated by ASIO in 2019 over alleged links to an ISIS-associated cell.
The Bondi Beach shooting has been officially declared a terrorist incident. At least 15 people were killed, including a 10-year-old girl, and 40 others were injured, five critically. Two police officers remain in serious but stable condition.
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