“Aussie news”
As an “Aussie” keeping an eye on what’s going on back home, I’ve noticed a rise in reports coming out of Sydney and the wider New South Wales coast about shark incidents.
Across Aussie media, shark-focused pages, and SharkSmart alerts, there’s been a noticeable uptick in reports of shark encounters and beach closures around Sydney.
2026 has been a pretty unusual year for the Sydney region. Back in January, the NSW coastline saw a run of four shark incidents within just 48 hours. Some of them happened right around Sydney, which led to multiple beach closures and kicked off a big public debate about swimming safety. Experts at the time called it an extraordinary situation.
Then in June, there was another serious incident at Coogee Beach in Sydney. A 35-year-old woman was attacked a few dozen metres off the shore and suffered life-threatening injuries. Authorities responded by shutting down beaches from Bondi through to Maroubra and rolling out intensive aerial patrols along the coastline.
In NSW, a typical year usually sees around 4–6 shark incidents. In 2026, the numbers are higher at about 7–8 overall, with 3–4 around the Sydney area.
