New South Wales to launch Australia's largest gun buyback after three decades in response to Bondi Beach massacre
The buyback is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of firearms across the state
New South Wales will begin Australia's biggest gun buyback in three decades on November 2, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and state Premier Chris Minns said. It is part of the national response to the mass shooting at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration.
The scheme will run in two phases. From November 2, gun owners can bring in handguns, shotguns and rifles for fixed payments, with revolvers worth AUS$1,000 (US$700), semi-automatic handguns AUS$850 (US$600), and air rifles AUS$450 (US$315). A second phase beginning in early 2027 will offer compensation for higher-value firearms worth more than AUS$3,000 (US$2,100), capped at AUS$10,000 (US$7,000) per weapon.
NSW and the federal government will jointly fund the buyback, with Canberra covering half of administration costs and all destruction costs. The buyback follows gun law reforms NSW enacted which limit individuals to four firearms, with exceptions for farmers and professional shooters who may own up to 10.
The state estimates roughly 274,000 registered firearms, about 24 percent of its total, exceed the new limits or fall under reclassified weapon categories.
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This decision comes in response to the December 14 attack, where two gunmen killed 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl and a Holocaust survivor, at Bondi Beach. One suspect, Naveed Akram, 24, has yet to enter pleas on charges including 15 counts of murder.
The plan has faced resistance elsewhere. Queensland and Victoria have rejected it, the Northern Territory has declined to contribute funding, and the Nationals have introduced a Senate bill to repeal the federal buyback.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said the attack was not the fault of firearms themselves.