Australia’s government has announced a sweeping gun buyback scheme in the aftermath of the Bondi Beach attack, the country’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades, signaling a renewed push to curb firearms in a nation long held up as a model for gun control.
The initiative, agreed to this week by the national cabinet, is the most significant rollback of civilian gun ownership since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which killed 35 people and reshaped Australia’s relationship with firearms. Officials say the new measures are a direct response to Sunday’s attack, in which 15 people were killed and dozens wounded during a Jewish festival on Sydney’s iconic shoreline.
Police have declared the Bondi attack a terrorist incident, alleging it was carried out by a father and son motivated by Islamic State ideology. Naveed Akram, 24, survived and now faces 59 criminal charges, including 15 counts of murder. His father, Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police at the scene.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the tragedy exposed serious gaps in Australia’s firearms regime. There are now more than four million guns in the country, he noted — more than were in circulation at the time of Port Arthur.
“We know one of these terrorists held a firearm licence and possessed six guns while living in suburban Sydney,” Albanese said. “There is no reason someone in that situation should have had that many firearms.”
Under the buyback scheme, the federal government and states will jointly fund the purchase and destruction of surplus, newly banned and illegal weapons. Officials estimate that hundreds of thousands of firearms will be removed from circulation. The plan also introduces limits on the number of guns an individual may own, tighter licensing rules, restrictions on certain weapon types, and a requirement that only Australian citizens can hold a firearms licence.
Authorities will also fast-track a national firearms register and expand regulators’ access to criminal intelligence.
The announcement comes amid heightened security concerns nationwide. On Friday, New South Wales police said they were preparing to release seven men detained in Sydney over extremist ideology, though they would remain under close monitoring. Police said there was no confirmed link between the group and the Bondi attackers, but acknowledged the men had planned to visit multiple public locations, including Bondi Beach.
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Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said reducing the sheer number of firearms was essential. “If you want to reduce risk,” she said, “a buyback scheme has to be part of the solution.”
For a country still haunted by the memory of Port Arthur, the government’s message was clear: the Bondi attack has reopened old wounds — and reignited a determination to act before they deepen further.