New South Wales will become the first state to commence Australia’s biggest gun buyback in 30 years, with the state and federal governments agreeing to share the costs of the scheme in response to the Bondi beach terror attack.
Anthony Albanese and the Minns government said the buyback would begin in two phases from 2 November, with costs evenly split between the state and the commonwealth.
Under the first phase of the scheme, $1,000 will be paid for revolvers and $850 for semi-automatic handguns. Compensation of $850 will be paid for double-barrel shotguns and $650 for those with a single barrel.
Between $650 and $1,000 will be paid for rifles, while air rifles have a fixed compensation of $450.
“We must do everything we can to make sure the antisemitic terrorist attack in Bondi doesn’t happen again. That includes meaningful nationwide gun reform,” the prime minister said.
“I thank the New South Wales government for their collaboration as we work to take guns off our streets in order to better protect Australians.”
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailThe federal and NSW governments said phase 2 of the scheme would begin in early 2027, and provide “a pathway to compensation” for “eligible higher-value firearms with an indicative market value above $3,000, capped at $10,000 per firearm”.
The federal government had announced the creation of the buyback scheme in the wake of the deadly terrorist attack at Sydney’s Bondi beach on 14 December 2025, in which two gunmen allegedly killed 15 people.
NSW also tightened the state’s gun laws in response to the shooting. The new laws restrict the number of guns an individual can own to four, with exceptions for farmers and professional shooters, who are restricted to 10.
The laws also reclassified some weapons, including banning firearms that allow multiple shots without reloading.
NSW police will administer the state’s buyback, which will compensate individuals for surrendering firearms that exceed the new ownership limits or which have been reclassified.
The buyback scheme will also provide financial assistance for businesses and industry to adjust to the reforms.
A government spokesperson said the commonwealth would contribute 50% for administration costs, and fully fund the destruction costs for surrendered firearms and administration.
Phase 1 of the scheme would also include an “initial industry support package” for businesses and dealers, including grants of up to $25,000 and one-off licence fee relief “worth $500 over two years per dealer”.
Phase 2 would also include further industry support with specific details to be announced at a later date.
“After Bondi, we promised the people of New South Wales we would introduce the toughest gun laws in the country, and that’s exactly what we did,” said the state’s premier, Chris Minns.
“The next step is getting the guns that are no longer permitted under those laws out of circulation and permanently off our streets.”
The NSW government estimates up to 274,000 registered firearms – approximately 24% of the total number of registered guns in the state – will be affected by the new limits.
“There are potentially hundreds of thousands of firearms affected by these changes. We want those guns handed in, compensated for and safely destroyed,” Minns said.
“This is a big undertaking, but the principle behind it is simple: fewer dangerous guns in our community means a safer New South Wales.”
The NSW counter-terrorism minister, Yasmin Catley, said the state’s police force would be “overseeing a significant logistics exercise in public safety”.
“We ask affected firearms licence holders to be patient. Everyone affected by the new laws in NSW will have the opportunity to participate in the buyback scheme,” she said.
The move comes after the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion recommended that governments “prioritise efforts to finalise and implement an updated and nationally consistent national firearms agreement and the proposed buyback scheme”.
