Farmers in NSW will be able to blow past the 10-firearm cap imposed under stricter new gun laws.
A tranche of laws passed in December means an individual can have no more than four firearms, with primary producers and sportspeople limited to 10.
NSW Premier Chris Minns succeeded in pushing through legislation to cap gun ownership, limit magazine capacity and tighten regulation around licences after the Bondi terrorist attack that left 15 people dead.
During budget estimates on Friday, Liberal MP Susan Carter questioned the police minister on whether primary producers could own more guns if needed for their business.
"It is not our intention for those people who genuinely need the firearms to go about their business, their farm, to not allow them to do that," Police Minister Yasmin Catley said.
"If they have a genuine reason, they can seek an exemption."
The state's new rules consider animal control or business to warrant exceeding the ownership cap, giving NSW Police the final say on how many additional licences to grant.
On December 16, two days after the Bondi massacre, Mr Minns said he was determined for NSW to have the nation's toughest gun laws, a title then held by Western Australia.
"In Australia, in 2026, there's no real justification for having more arms than a small military," he said on Wednesday.
WA's rules, which came into effect in 2025, impose a five-gun ownership cap for hunters and 10 for sportspeople and primary producers.
The NSW Nationals, who split from their senior coalition partners to oppose the Minns' government's gun reforms, feared farmers would find even tighter regulations unworkable.
Nationals leader Gurmesh Singh welcomed the police minister's confirmation that, as businesses, primary producers could apply for more firearms.
"We look forward to holding the police minister to her commitment," he said.
