Australian state to launch gun buyback after Bondi Beach attack

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has agreed to join the federal government's national gun buyback scheme, aligning the territory with New South Wales (NSW) in the push to strengthen Australia's gun laws in the wake of last December's terrorist attack at Bondi Beach.

The agreement, announced by the federal and ACT governments, follows a National Cabinet commitment to eradicate antisemitism and strengthen firearm laws. It comes a week after NSW announced it would be the first state to begin the buyback, with the scheme commencing on 2 November.

Under the arrangement for the ACT, the Commonwealth will fund 75 per cent of the buyback and associated administrative costs, and 100 per cent of firearm destruction costs. The ACT government will fund the remainder.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement that the scheme was about keeping communities safe.

"National gun reform is an important part of making sure an antisemitic terrorist attack like we saw at Bondi can't happen again," he said.

"I thank the ACT government for their collaboration as we work to take guns off our streets in order to better protect Australians."

The ACT has over 7,000 people who hold a firearms licence and is home to approximately 23,000 registered firearms. About 14 per cent of those licence holders are expected to be affected by the proposed cap.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr acknowledged that the majority of firearms owners were responsible and law-abiding citizens. In a statement, he said the agreement strengthened community safety and supported effective firearm reforms across jurisdictions.

No start date or per-firearm compensation details have been given for the ACT buyback scheme. The ACT has proposed the Firearms (Public Safety) Amendment Bill 2026, which would limit licensed gun holders to owning five guns, with exemptions up to ten for occupational and sporting purposes. The bill, still before the ACT Legislative Assembly, would also criminalise possession of blueprints for 3D-printed guns, prohibit belt-fed firearms, and re-categorise firearm types.

Views from the community

While the territory's latest reforms are portrayed as a practical measure, the ACT's geography is a unique factor. The territory is entirely surrounded by NSW and is Australia's most urbanised jurisdiction. The Canberra Times, an editorial noted, this makes it "logical for the territory to be on the same page as its larger neighbour" and argued that the need to own large arsenals in a city-state is "highly questionable." The same outlet acknowledged that the territory's licence holders are predominantly responsible citizens but argued reducing the number of firearms in circulation is a way to reduce the risk of theft and diversion to organised crime or extremists.

The ACT's chief minister was quoted in an earlier report as conceding that "the majority of firearms owners are responsible and law-abiding," but he underlined that"the buyback agreement reinforces a broader suite of aggressive territory government reforms." The editorial viewpoint and the official statements together frame the development as a balanced step: ensuring legal guns are kept out of the wrong hands without penalising the broader community in the territory.

The NSW scheme

In NSW, the buyback will offer up to AUS$1,000 for eligible handguns, shotguns and rifles starting 2 November. The scheme, jointly funded by NSW and the federal government, is part of a broader package of reforms.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said: "We want those guns handed in, compensated for and safely destroyed," and he predicted the move could see hundreds of thousands of guns surrendered.

The state has already reduced firearm licence terms from five years to a period of two years, and has limited individuals to owning four guns, though some people such as farmers and sports shooters can own a maximum of ten.

Concerns and scale

The buyback comes after the December 14 attack on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach, where 15 people were killed, including a 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor. Australian authorities had initially planned a nationwide gun buyback, but the plans were delayed over funding and implementation, according to reports from November.

Federal funding under the ACT agreement covers 75 per cent of compensation, administration, and firearm destruction costs. The NSW buyback is jointly funded with the federal government.

Businesses adjusting to reforms will have to cover the cost with support amounts capped at AUS$25,000, and assistance is also available for gun dealers.

The buyback is likely to be offered to those with weapons over the permitted limits or who no longer hold the required licence. The scheme has two phases: the first covers handguns, shotguns and rifles from November, with a second phase for higher-value firearms valued over A$3,000, with a cap of A$10,000.

The measures are part of a push to "strengthen Australia's gun laws with a national agreement between the Commonwealth, NSW, and now the ACT," as reported by the ABC. But as the ACT government has yet to release schedule or compensation details, its specific roll-out remains a separate administrative exercise from NSW's.

The Hence, the ACT's participation echoes broader national consensus that gun reform is a necessary part of addressing the security shift that came to the fore after the Bondi tragedy, but the details of how the buyback is implemented across states and territories, particularly in the ACT, still remain to be worked out.