What to know about Australia’s gun laws in the wake of Bondi Beach shooting
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Fully automatic firearms have been largely banned from civilian use since 1996 under the National Firearms Agreement.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SYDNEY – The strict firearms laws Australia instituted three decades ago have been cited as a model for effective gun control.
Provoked by a mass shooting in 1996, the laws have been credited with making such episodes a rarity in the country.
Now, questions are being raised about whether the laws should be tightened after the worst such episode in the country since then: the murder of at least 15 people by two gunmen
What are the gun rules in Australia?
Fully automatic firearms, such as machine guns, and most semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, have been largely banned from civilian use since 1996 under the National Firearms Agreement.
Some categories of guns – such as pump-action shotguns and bolt-action rifles, as well as other limited-capacity weapons – are permitted under strict circumstances.
Gun ownership is far more tightly regulated than in countries such as the US.
Although specific requirements vary slightly by state, generally to obtain a full firearm licence in Australia, you must be an adult, provide proof of a “genuine reason” – such as pest control or recreational hunting – have a safe place to store the weapon and complete a safety course.
Before the permit is approved, the authorities conduct background checks, including reviews of a person’s criminal history as well as court orders related to family violence or mental health issues.
If the gun licence is approved, the applicant then needs to lodge a permit for each firearm. After that, they are able to purchase the gun from a licensed firearms dealer, who will notify the state’s registry of the purchase.
The 50-year-old man police identified as one of the shooters at the Bondi massacre, who was confirmed dead, held a gun licence and owned six firearms
What provoked Australia’s stricter gun rules?
The rules have been in place since Australia overhauled its gun laws in 1996 following the Port Arthur massacre, when Martin Bryant – a lone gunman – killed 35 people at a Tasmanian tourist site.
Federal Parliament, under then newly elected prime minister John Howard, convened days later and moved quickly to tighten national laws.
By the following month, a landmark agreement to undertake gun reform was reached with all states and territories, which included the ban on certain weapons and strict nationwide registration and licensing based on a “genuine” need for ownership.
Because the ban left thousands of Australians holding newly prohibited weapons, the government also implemented a year-long national gun buyback scheme, offering compensation in exchange for weapons and granting amnesty from prosecution.
About 600,000 firearms – roughly a quarter of the country’s privately held stock – were surrendered and destroyed between 1996 and 1997, according to a report from the University of New South Wales’ Howard Library.
How effective have the gun rules been?
Australia’s gun-control framework is often cited internationally as a successful model.
Gun violence has remained relatively low on the global scale. There were 31 homicide cases in Australia that involved a firearm in the year to June 30, 2024 – about 12 per cent of total homicide incidents, according to government data.
This compares with the US, where about 80 per cent of murders involved a firearm in 2023, according to Pew Research.
Still, there are now more firearms in the country than before the overhaul of the gun laws in 1996, according to a May report from The Australia Institute.
The number of registered firearms fell from 3.2 million in 1996 to 2.5 million in 1997. It has since risen to more than four million.
That is at least one licensed firearm for every seven Australians, according to the report.
Will the gun laws be reviewed?
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that he will look at tightening gun laws.
At a media conference on Dec 15, he said he would consider tougher measures
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns is also looking at toughening gun laws. He said the granting of a firearms licence in perpetuity “is clearly not fit for purpose”.
How big is Australia’s black market for guns?
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission says there are more than 260,000 illicit firearms in Australia and that illegal virtual marketplaces are increasingly allowing criminals to obtain them anonymously.
The illicit firearms market is driven in part by outlaw motorcycle gangs, organised crime groups and other groups engaged in trafficking illicit commodities such as drugs, according to the commission.
Most illicit guns find their way to the black market via theft, while a comparatively small amount are illegally manufactured or imported, it said. BLOOMBERG
