Ex-ASIO agent offers to give evidence to Bondi inquiry from abroad

A former ASIO agent has offered to give evidence to the Bondi royal commission from abroad, after two visa applications to enter Australia were rejected.

The former agent, known as Marcus, claims to have warned ASIO about the gunmen who allegedly carried out the Bondi terror attack years before it occurred.

Marcus had wanted to give his evidence in Australia, but is now willing to speak to the royal commission from overseas.

A former ASIO agent who claims to have warned the domestic spy agency about the Bondi gunmen years before last December's terror attack says he is willing to give evidence to a royal commission from overseas.

The former agent, known as Marcus, worked with ASIO to infiltrate Islamic State networks in Western Sydney years before the attack.

He told the ABC's Four Corners earlier this year that the agency was warned about both Naveed and Sajid Akram in 2019 and the Bondi terror attack "was a result of a set of errors and a disregard for information".

ASIO has previously said it stood by its assessment at that point in time, and had labelled Marcus "disgruntled and unreliable", which Marcus rejects.

The former agent has been living abroad, and has been seeking a visa to return to Australia to give evidence onshore, due to the sensitivity of his evidence and additional legal protections he had gained from being on Australian soil.

But his visa applications have been rejected twice, both times on the grounds that immigration authorities are unconvinced he intends to stay temporarily.

Marcus has previously sought protection and resettlement in Australia.

Earlier this week, Commissioner Virginia Bell SC used the final scheduled day of hearings at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion to describe the efforts made to hear Marcus's evidence.

She said the royal commission had been in contact with his solicitors, and had been working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on arrangements for him to speak with the commission's lawyers from overseas.

The DFAT officials had worked to find a venue abroad that Marcus could reach, where they could provide a secure line.

Last week, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Marcus was free to give evidence in public , saying ASIO had no concerns about his evidence, but Ms Bell said the royal commission would not hear his evidence in open hearings due to the risk of prejudicing separate criminal proceedings.