The suspects were a father and son, ages 50 and 24, authorities have said. The older man, whom state officials named as Sajid Akram, was shot dead.

The father and son terrorists responsible for the Bondi Beach attack returned from a holiday to the extremist hotspot Philippines on November 30 - two weeks before their rampage.

A man identified by Australian media as 43-year-old Sydney fruit shop owner Ahmed al Ahmed has been hailed as a hero for tackling and disarming one of the gunmen during the attack.