Govind Tekale
New South Wales will launch its largest firearms buyback scheme in the state’s history following a major gun policy announcement made by NSW Premier Chris Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on August 15, 2026. The scheme is being described by state and federal leadership as bigger than the landmark federal buyback introduced after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, according to ABC News reporting.
The announcement comes in direct response to the terror attack at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025, when a gunman killed 15 people in one of Australia’s deadliest mass shootings in recent years. The government is using the attack as the catalyst to aggressively pursue gun removal from the community, with estimates suggesting approximately 274,000 firearms will be taken out of circulation from the state’s 1.2 million gun owners, according to figures provided by NSW Police.
The buyback will run in two distinct phases. Phase 1 commences on November 2, 2026, and will offer cash payments for firearms currently in circulation. According to NSW Police, the pricing structure for Phase 1 reflects the different types of weapons being removed from the community. Revolvers will be purchased at up to $1,000 each, while semi-automatic handguns will attract up to $850. Double-barrel shotguns will be valued at up to $850, single-barrel shotguns at up to $650, rifles between $650 and $1,000, and air rifles at up to $450. These prices represent the government’s assessment of typical market values for these weapon types.
Phase 2 of the scheme will commence in early 2027 and will target higher-value firearms. Weapons with a market value exceeding $3,000 will be eligible for buyback payments of up to $10,000, according to information released by the NSW government. This two-stage approach is intended to ensure that owners of more specialized or expensive firearms are adequately compensated for their surrender.
NSW Police will administer the entire scheme, handling both the processing of applications and the collection of firearms from eligible participants. The financial arrangements for the buyback reflect a partnership between state and federal government. The Commonwealth has committed to funding 50 percent of all administration costs associated with running the scheme, according to statements from PM Albanese. The federal government will also fully fund the costs of destroying the seized weapons, shifting the destruction expense entirely away from NSW taxpayers, under oversight from the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs.
The buyback operates within the broader framework of gun law reforms enacted in December 2025, immediately following the Bondi Beach attack. These reforms tightened NSW’s firearm regulations substantially. Gun owners are now restricted to possessing a maximum of four firearms, though exceptions exist for farmers and professional shooters, who may hold up to ten. The December 2025 reforms also reclassified certain weapons categories and specifically banned firearms that allow multiple shots without reloading, effectively targeting semi-automatic and pump-action designs.
The announcement has generated political controversy. Opposition leader Kelly Sloane has publicly criticized the scheme, particularly objecting to the government’s failure to publicly disclose the total estimated cost of the entire buyback program. Pauline Hanson, leader of the One Nation party, has announced her party’s opposition to the policy entirely. The Shooters Union Australia has characterized the scheme as a “slap in the face” to law-abiding gun owners, according to ABC News reporting.
Supporters of the scheme have pointed to the historical success of the 1996 federal buyback introduced by then-Prime Minister John Howard in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania. That scheme removed over 600,000 firearms from circulation and is widely credited with reducing the frequency of mass shootings in Australia in subsequent decades. Government officials believe that the current NSW scheme, combined with the December 2025 law reforms, will produce similarly significant public safety benefits.
