When Government Actions Become Sources of Trauma: Understanding Collective Psychological Injury

By Dr. Sarah Fischer, MAPS, Principal Psychologist at Behavioural Edge Psychology, December 2025

The events of Sunday, 14 December 2025 at Bondi Beach have left our nation reeling. Fifteen lives were lost, including a 10-year-old child, and more than 40 people were injured in what authorities have confirmed as a targeted terrorist attack on a community Hanukkah celebration. As a psychologist with experience treating a range of trauma conditions, I have watched our collective response unfold with both professional understanding and profound grief. This tragedy, combined with the ongoing reverberations of Australia’s COVID-19 lockdown experiences, raises crucial questions about the relationship between government actions, or inactions, and the psychological wellbeing of citizens. This article takes two of many government actions and decisions that have the potential to cause trauma in its citizens as examples only to illustrate a point about social wellbeing. It is not meant to discount any other examples, such as those listed here in this article’s appendix.

The Psychology of Government-Induced Trauma

When we think about trauma, we typically focus on discrete events: accidents, assaults, natural disasters. However, psychological research has long recognised that trauma can also result from systemic failures, policy decisions, and the actions, or conspicuous absence of actions, by those entrusted with our safety and wellbeing.

Government-induced trauma operates at multiple levels simultaneously. At the individual level, people may experience direct harm, loss, or terror. At the community level, there is collective grief, fractured social cohesion, and erosion of trust. At the systemic level, repeated exposure to governmental failures can fundamentally alter how citizens relate to authority, perceive their safety, and engage with civic life.

This form of trauma is particularly insidious because it involves a violation of what psychologists call the 'social contract', which is the implicit agreement that governments will act in the interests of citizen safety and wellbeing. When this contract is breached, the psychological impact extends far beyond the immediate victims.

Bondi Beach: A Preventable Tragedy?

The Bondi Beach attack did not occur in a vacuum. Australia's Jewish community has experienced a documented surge in antisemitic incidents since October 2023, with the Executive Council of Australian Jewry recording over 1,600 anti-Jewish incidents between October 2024 and September of that year alone. In August 2024, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation elevated the national terrorism threat level from 'possible' to 'probable', explicitly citing tensions related to the Gaza conflict.

Despite these clear warning signs, a large public gathering celebrating the first night of Hanukkah at one of Australia's most iconic locations proceeded with what appears, from emerging reports, to have been inadequate security measures. The psychological impact of this is profound and multifaceted.

For the direct victims and their families, there is acute traumatic grief compounded by the knowledge that this attack was foreseeable. For the broader Jewish community, there is the trauma of targeted violence combined with the perception that their repeated concerns were not adequately addressed. For all Australians, there is the unsettling realisation that our systems failed to protect vulnerable citizens at a moment of celebration.

This sense of systemic failure creates what trauma researchers call 'institutional betrayal', or the psychological distress that occurs when an institution causes harm to individuals who depend on that institution for safety. The impact of institutional betrayal often exceeds the trauma of the precipitating event itself because it fundamentally undermines trust and security.

The Compounding Effect of Historical Context

For Australian Jewish communities, the Bondi attack cannot be separated from decades of vigilance, multiple previous attacks on Jewish institutions globally, and the lived experience of rising antisemitism. This is not a single traumatic event, It is the latest in a series that creates a state of chronic hypervigilance and reinforces the message that safety cannot be assumed, even in spaces that should be secure.

COVID Lockdowns: A Different Kind of Government-Induced Trauma

Australia's response to COVID-19, particularly in Victoria and New South Wales, was among the strictest in the developed world. Melbourne endured 262 days of lockdown, which was the longest of any city globally. While public health measures were necessary to save lives, the psychological cost of these interventions was substantial and continues to reverberate through our communities.

The trauma of lockdowns was multidimensional:

• Social isolation and disconnection: Extended separation from loved ones, inability to access normal support systems, and the psychological impact of prolonged solitude.

• Economic devastation: Business closures, job losses, and financial insecurity that created chronic stress and uncertainty

• Grief without ritual: Inability to properly farewell dying relatives, restrictions on funerals and mourning practices, and the complicated grief that results

• Developmental disruption for children and adolescents: Critical periods of social and educational development occurring in isolation

• Moral injury: Healthcare workers and essential workers forced to work in unsafe conditions while others remained isolated

• Erosion of trust in institutions: Constantly changing rules, perceived inconsistencies in enforcement, and polarised public discourse

What made lockdown trauma particularly complex was the absence of a clear threat perception. Unlike Bondi Beach, where the danger was immediately identifiable, COVID-19 was invisible. This created a situation where the government restrictions themselves, such as the curfews, the five-kilometre radius limits, the inability to travel to see dying relatives, became the most tangible source of distress for many people.

Research emerging from this period consistently shows elevated rates of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and substance use disorders. For many Australians, the lockdowns represented a profound loss of autonomy and agency, which are fundamental psychological needs, imposed by the very government meant to protect their wellbeing.

The Long Shadow of Policy Decisions

What makes government-induced trauma from lockdowns particularly challenging is the ongoing debate about proportionality and necessity. Unlike the Bondi attack, which is universally condemned as preventable violence, lockdown measures remain contested. This means that many people are left without validation for their suffering, creating a form of disenfranchised grief where their pain is not socially recognised or supported.

Common Mechanisms of Government-Induced Trauma

While the Bondi attack and COVID lockdowns appear superficially different, they share underlying mechanisms that create psychological harm:

• Betrayal of trust: The expectation that government will protect citizens is violated, whether through inadequate security or through policies that cause harm

• Loss of control and agency: Citizens are rendered powerless in the face of governmental decisions or failures

• Shattered assumptions: Fundamental beliefs about safety, fairness, and social cohesion are disrupted

• Absence of accountability: When those responsible are not held accountable, it compounds the psychological injury

• Collective versus individual needs: Tension between what is deemed necessary for public safety and the rights or needs of individuals

The Path Forward: Healing and Systemic Change

Healing from government-induced trauma requires action at multiple levels.

For Individuals and Communities

• Validation: Your distress in response to governmental failures or harmful policies is legitimate and understandable

• Connection: Seek out others who share your experience. Collective trauma is best processed collectively

• Professional support: Trauma-informed psychological support can help process institutional betrayal and rebuild a sense of safety

• Advocacy: Channel grief and anger into demands for systemic change and accountability

• Realistic expectations: Healing from institutional betrayal takes time and occurs in fits and starts

For Government and Institutions

1. Acknowledgment: Explicitly recognise when policies or failures have caused harm

2. Transparency: Be honest about what went wrong, what was known when, and what decisions were made

3. Accountability: Those responsible for failures must face appropriate consequences

4. Systemic reform: Implement changes to prevent similar failures in future

5. Support for affected communities: Provide accessible, trauma-informed mental health services without financial barriers

Conclusion

The Bondi Beach attack and the COVID-19 lockdowns represent different forms of government-related trauma, but both illustrate a fundamental truth: when institutions fail in their duty to protect and support citizens, the psychological consequences extend far beyond the immediate harm. The grief of families who lost loved ones at Bondi Beach, the exhaustion of healthcare workers pushed beyond sustainable limits, the despair of business owners who lost their livelihoods, the anxiety of children whose development was disrupted. All of these represent legitimate psychological injuries that deserve recognition and redress.

As we grapple with these events, it is crucial that we expand our understanding of trauma to include the harm that can be inflicted by governmental action or inaction. Only by acknowledging this reality can we begin the difficult work of healing and ensure that our institutions truly serve the psychological wellbeing of all citizens.

From a personal perspective, as an American who immigrated to Australia, I can acknowledge these issues and still love this country. In fact, I have far more faith in our government here than I do abroad to address these issues. I hope Australia does not let me down.

If you have been affected by the Bondi Beach attack or are experiencing ongoing distress related to the pandemic:

•            NSW Mental Health Line: 1800 011 511 (24/7)

•            Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7)

•            Victims Services (Bondi Beach incident): 1800 411 822

•            Jewish Community Services: 1300 133 660

Behavioural Edge Psychology specialises in trauma-informed care and can provide support for individuals and communities affected by collective trauma. Contact me to discuss how I can help.

Appendix

Based on documented evidence and psychological research, here are several Australian government actions and policies that have been or could be trauma-inducing:

Child Protection and Institutional Systems

Out-of-home care practices: Repeated placement disruptions, separation from siblings, inadequate support for kinship carers, and the documented failures leading to abuse within the system. The trauma is compounded by institutional betrayal when the system meant to protect children causes additional harm.

Historical forced adoptions: The forced removal of babies from unmarried mothers (1950s-1970s), now recognised through national apologies, created intergenerational trauma that continues to affect families.

Immigration and Detention

Offshore detention and processing: Prolonged indefinite detention on Nauru and Manus Island, particularly affecting children. The psychological harm has been extensively documented, including high rates of self-harm, suicide attempts, and what mental health professionals termed "traumatic withdrawal syndrome" in children.

Temporary Protection Visas and uncertainty: Leaving asylum seekers in indefinite limbo without permanent residency pathways creates chronic stress and prevents psychological recovery from pre-migration trauma.

Immigration detention of children: Although officially ended, the practice and its psychological consequences continue to reverberate.

Indigenous Affairs

The Stolen Generations: The forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families (continuing into the 1970s), which created profound intergenerational trauma still affecting communities today.

Closing the Gap failures: Persistent health, education, and economic disparities despite policy commitments represent ongoing systemic neglect that compounds historical trauma.

Deaths in custody: The failure to implement recommendations from the 1991 Royal Commission, with Indigenous deaths in custody continuing at disproportionate rates, creates ongoing community trauma and reinforces distrust.

Income Management/Cashless Debit Card: The compulsory quarantining of welfare payments in Indigenous communities, which many psychologists argued undermined autonomy and dignity.

Northern Territory Intervention: The 2007 emergency response that suspended the Racial Discrimination Act and imposed measures many Indigenous leaders described as traumatic and paternalistic.

Disability Services

NDIS implementation failures: The National Disability Insurance Scheme's complex bureaucracy, inconsistent decision-making, funding cuts, and access barriers have created significant stress for people with disabilities and their families. The gap between promise and delivery constitutes a form of institutional betrayal.

Institutionalisation and restrictive practices: Historical and ongoing use of restraint, seclusion, and institutionalisation of people with disabilities.

Royal Commission findings: The Disability Royal Commission revealed widespread abuse in disability services, with government oversight failures enabling systemic harm.

Robodebt Scandal

One of the most clear-cut examples of government-induced trauma: the automated debt recovery system that wrongly accused hundreds of thousands of welfare recipients of fraud, resulting in:

• Psychological distress from false accusations

• Financial devastation from unlawful debt collection

• At least three confirmed suicides linked to the scheme

• Institutional betrayal by a system meant to provide support

• The Royal Commission's findings explicitly confirmed systemic failure and harm

  
  

Public Housing and Homelessness

Public housing tower lockdowns (2020): The hard lockdown of Melbourne public housing towers with no notice, affecting predominantly immigrant and refugee communities already experiencing trauma.

Chronic underfunding and waitlists: Years-long waiting lists for public housing while people live in unsafe or unstable conditions creates ongoing chronic stress.

Social housing demolitions: Forced relocations from established communities, particularly affecting vulnerable populations.

Mental Health System Failures

Inadequate acute care: Inability to access timely psychiatric care, people in crisis being turned away from emergency departments, and the use of police as first responders to mental health crises.

Discharge without support: Releasing people from involuntary treatment without adequate community support systems.

Healthcare Rationing and Access

Medicare rebate freeze: The effective reduction in healthcare affordability, particularly affecting people with chronic conditions who require ongoing specialist care.

Dental care exclusion: The absence of comprehensive dental care in Medicare creates health disparities and preventable suffering.

Rural healthcare gaps: Systemic under-resourcing of rural and remote healthcare creates geographic health inequality.

Environmental Policy Failures

Climate change inaction: For young people especially, government failure to adequately address climate change has been linked to "climate anxiety" and eco-grief.

Bushfire responses: The 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires revealed gaps in disaster preparedness and response, with communities feeling abandoned.

Veterans Affairs

Claims processing delays: Veterans waiting years for legitimate compensation claims while experiencing financial hardship and psychological distress.

Inadequate mental health support: Documented failures in providing timely, adequate mental health care for veterans with PTSD and other service-related conditions.

Employment and Social Security

Mutual obligations during crises: Maintaining strict welfare compliance requirements during disasters or when jobs are unavailable creates additional stress.

Workplace safety enforcement failures: When workplace deaths occur despite known risks, families experience institutional betrayal alongside grief.

Criminal Justice

Wrongful convictions: Cases like those revealed by the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme show how systemic failures can destroy lives.

Bail and remand practices: People held on remand for extended periods, particularly affecting Indigenous people and those with mental health conditions.

Post-sentence detention schemes: Continuing detention of people beyond their sentence completion creates ongoing psychological distress.

Youth Justice

Use of spit hoods and restraints: Particularly in Don Dale (Northern Territory) and other youth detention facilities, as revealed by royal commissions.

Raising the age failures: Despite evidence that children under 14 shouldn't be in criminal justice systems, implementation has been slow or resisted.

Common Psychological Mechanisms

These diverse examples share common features:

• Broken trust: The government as protector becomes source of harm

• Powerlessness: Citizens unable to escape or change the situation

• Invisibility: Marginalised groups disproportionately affected

• Lack of accountability: Inquiries and reports often don't lead to meaningful change

• Compounding: These policies often affect people already experiencing trauma

• Legitimacy confusion: When harm is state-sanctioned, victims may struggle to validate their own distress

From a trauma psychology perspective, what makes these particularly damaging is that they often affect people who are already vulnerable and who have limited power to advocate for themselves. The institutional betrayal aspect, where the very systems meant to help instead cause harm, creates complex psychological injury that is difficult to treat because it undermines the foundational trust needed for healing.