Australia will launch a national gun buyback scheme following the mass shooting in Sydney, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday, as hundreds of surfers and swimmers paddled out at Bondi Beach to honour the victims. Australian police say the deadly attack that took place on Sunday has been declared a terrorist incident.
What is gun buyback scheme?
The buyback will be similar to gun reforms introduced after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, where a lone gunman killed 35 people. That attack led Australia to introduce some of the world’s toughest gun laws. A gun buyback scheme is a programme run by the government or police to buy guns from people so that fewer firearms remain in public circulation. These schemes mainly fall into two types. The first is a legislation-led compensation scheme, where a new law bans certain firearms and owners are required to hand them over in return for money, as seen in large national programmes in countries like Australia and the United Kingdom. The second is an incentivised amnesty scheme, which is voluntary and offers cash or gift cards for surrendered weapons, often on a “no questions asked” basis, to help remove both legal and illegal guns from the community.
What Happened at Bondi Beach in Sydney Mass Shooting Case?
A mass shooting occurred at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025, during a Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people and injuring more than 40 others. Australian authorities declared it a terrorist attack inspired by the Islamic State (ISIS) . According to investigators, the attack was carried out by a father and son. The son, Naveed Akram, aged 24, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act. His father, Sajid, was killed during the attack.
National Cabinet Meets to Tighten Gun Control Laws
A day after the shooting, Australia’s national cabinet met to discuss stronger gun control measures. The cabinet includes leaders from the federal government as well as all states and territories. Following the meeting, the government agreed to tighten firearm laws across the country.
Australia Now Has More Guns Than During Port Arthur Era
Speaking to the media on Friday, Prime Minister Albanese said Australia now has more than four million firearms, which is higher than the number at the time of the Port Arthur massacre.
“We know that one of these terrorists held a firearm licence and had six guns, in spite of living in the middle of Sydney’s suburbs… There’s no reason why someone in that situation needed that many guns,” Albanese said.
Gun Buyback Scheme to Reduce Firearms in Circulation
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said cutting down gun numbers would require a buyback scheme. Under the scheme, the government will buy surplus firearms, newly banned weapons, and illegal guns. The cost will be shared equally between the federal government and the states and territories. Officials estimate that hundreds of thousands of firearms will be collected and destroyed.
New Gun Buyback Rules to Limit Gun Ownership and Licensing
The national cabinet also agreed on further strict steps. These include limits on how many firearms one person can own, tighter firearm licence rules, and restrictions on the types of guns that can be legally owned. Australian citizenship will also become mandatory to hold a firearm licence. Work on a national firearms register will be sped up, and firearm regulators will gain better access to criminal intelligence.
Also Read: Bondi Beach Shooting: ISIS Calls Attack ‘Matter of Pride’, Australia Tightens Laws Against Extremism
