The ACT has agreed to join the Albanese government's national gun buyback scheme and compensate about 1000 Canberrans who would be in breach of the territory's proposed new firearm laws.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will announce the deal, part efforts to prevent a repeat of last year's deadly anti-Semitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, on Saturday.
Mr Barr said the buyback scheme would "provide compensation while helping deliver further community safety outcomes" as his government sought to further restrict gun ownership.
He said the deal would support "our ongoing efforts to further reduce the risk of firearms falling into the wrong hands."
"Working with the Commonwealth and NSW ensures a more co-ordinated approach to firearms safety," he said.
"Reducing the number of high-risk firearms in circulation is a sensible and practical measure to help keep Canberrans safer."
There are more than 7000 firearms licence holders and about 23,000 firearms in the territory.
"We recognise that the overwhelming majority of firearm licence holders are responsible and law-abiding citizens," Mr Barr said.
About 14 per cent of ACT licence holders may be affected by proposed new laws to cap ownership at five firearms for licence holders, with exemptions allowing up to 10 firearms for genuine occupational or sporting purposes.
The ACT is the second jurisdiction to join the scheme after NSW, while others have so far resisted.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said nationally consistent gun laws were "an important part of making sure an anti-Semitic terrorist attack like we saw at Bondi can't happen again."
"I thank the ACT government for their collaboration as we work to take guns off our streets in order to better protect Australians," Mr Albanese said.
The Commonwealth will pay 75 per cent of the ACT scheme's costs, compared to 50 per cent in NSW.
Further details of the ACT scheme are yet to be released. In NSW, gun owners will be paid between $450 and $1000 in exchange for their firearms.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the federal government had initiated "the most significant round of gun reform since the wake of the Port Arthur massacre."
Last year, the national cabinet - made up of all state and territory premiers and chief ministers - agreed to action to eradicate antisemitism and to strengthen gun laws.
Mr Barr said the ACT signing onto the national scheme "supports effective firearms reforms across jurisdictions."
The ACT government has introduced legislation to strengthen gun laws, to be debated in spring.
This includes limiting the number of firearms a licensee may possess or use, re-categorising certain firearms, prohibiting belt-fed firearms and creating an offence for possession of digital blueprints for the computer-aided manufacture of firearms and firearm parts.
It also seeks to introduce a firearm prohibition order scheme into the ACT to give police additional tools to ensure high-risk individuals do not gain access to firearms.
ACT Police Minister Marisa Paterson said the Barr government's proposed gun law changes were significant.
"We are here to work with the community as we progress through the changes," Dr Paterson said.
"I want to recognise that the majority of firearms owners are responsible and law-abiding ... Once we have finalised the agreement, we will provide clear information to the community about the process of the buyback, including eligibility, compensation and the process for surrendering the firearms."
Work was "continuing to progress" on the development of a fully digital ACT Firearms Registry, which would be integrated with the National Firearms Register and give police real-time access to firearms data.
"We take our responsibility as a government to do everything we can to reduce the risk posed by firearms in the community and keep Canberrans safe," Dr Paterson said.
ACT Policing Chief Police Officer Scott Lee said the gun buyback scheme was "an important measure to reduce the number of firearms in circulation in the ACT."
"We know that reducing firearms availability can reduce the risk that firearms will end up in the wrong hands and that legally owned firearms can be stolen and diverted into illicit markets, where they may become available to organised crime or individuals with extremist ideologies," he said.
