Firearm restrictions in Australia primarily fall under the jurisdiction of Australian states and territories, while the federal government oversees the importation of firearms. During the last two decades of the 20th century, in response to several high-profile mass shootings, the federal government worked closely with state governments to implement more stringent firearms legislation.
Gun laws were largely aligned in 1996 by the National Firearms Agreement which introduced stricter gun control measures and explicitly made gun ownership a privilege. In two federally funded gun buybacks and voluntary surrenders and State Governments' gun amnesties before and after the Port Arthur Massacre, more than a million firearms were collected and destroyed, possibly a third of the national stock. Since then the Agreement has continued to have support from both Labor and Coalition Federal Governments. In December 2023 the National Cabinet agreed to implement a national firearms register within four years.
A person must have a firearm licence to possess or use a firearm. Licence holders must be able to demonstrate at least one "genuine reason" (which explicitly excludes self-defence) for holding a firearm licence and must not be a "prohibited person". All firearms must be registered by serial number to the owner.
According to a 2025 review by The Australia Institute, while the National Firearms Agreement significantly improved public safety, the number of registered firearms has increased by approximately 25% since 1996. They noted emerging threats such as 3D-printed guns and recommended strengthening firearm regulations.
In December 2025, a proposed national gun buy-back was announced by prime minister Anthony Albanese following the Bondi Beach shooting. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
National legislative structure Following the shooting incidents at Port Arthur in 1996 and Monash University in 2002 the Australian state and territory governments, through the then Australian Police Ministers' Council (APMC) and Council of Australian Governments (COAG), entered into three national agreements that were responsible for shaping contemporary Australian firearm laws. These agreements were the: National Firearms Agreement (1996) National Firearm Trafficking Policy Agreement (2002) National Handgun Control Agreement (2002).
The ownership, possession and use of firearms in Australia is regulated by state and territory laws: New South Wales: Firearms Act 1996, Weapons Prohibition Act 1998, and associated regulations Victoria: Firearms Act 1996 and associated regulations Queensland: Weapons Act 1990 and associated regulations Western Australia: Firearms Act 2024 and associated regulations South Australia: Firearms Act 2015 and associated regulations Tasmania: Firearms Act 1996 and associated regulations Northern Territory: Firearms Act 1997 and associated regulations Australian Capital Territory: Firearms Act 1996, Prohibited Weapons Act 1996, and associated regulations.Library of Congress:
At the federal level, the importation of firearms is subject to the restrictions in Regulation 4F and Schedule 6 of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (Cth).
In 2024, the Western Australian government introduced a cap on the number of firearms a licensed individual can possess with farmers and competition shooters limited to ten firearms and recreational hunters limited to five. In December 2025, the New South Wales parliament passed similar laws, which have yet to take effect, which will impose a limit on farmers and competition shooters of ten firearms and a limit of four firearms for recreational hunters.
Firearms categories The National Firearm Agreement defines categories of firearms, with different levels of control for each, as follows:
Category A Rimfire rifles (not semi-automatic), shotguns (not pump-action, semi-automatic, or lever-action) & air rifles (including semi-automatic). Category B Centrefire rifles including bolt-action, pump-action and lever-action (not semi-automatic), muzzleloading firearms made after 1 January 1901 and lever-action shotguns with a magazine capacity of up to five rounds. Category C Pump-action or self-loading shotguns having a magazine capacity of 5 or fewer rounds and semi-automatic rimfire rifles up to 10 rounds. Primary producers, farm workers, firearm dealers, firearm safety officers, collectors and clay target shooters can own functional Category C firearms. In Western Australia, Category C shotguns may be owned by sporting shooters who participate in practical shotgun competitions. This is generally limited to second-hand shotguns. Category DAll self-loading centrefire rifles, pump-action or self-loading or lever-action shotguns that have a magazine capacity of more than five rounds, semi-automatic rimfire rifles over ten rounds, are restricted to government agencies, occupational shooters and primary producers. Category H Handguns can be owned for a number of "genuine reasons" including target shooting, occupational (security guard and prison guard), carrying on behalf of a junior, and official, commercial or prescribed purposes authorised by an Act or Regulation. For target shooters, a paid membership to an approved pistol club is mandated. Handguns allowed for target shooting are divided into four classes: Air handgun Rimfire handgun Centrefire handgun with a calibre of or less, or a black powder handgun Centrefire handgun with a calibre of more than .38 inch but not more than The amount of shooting participation that a licensed target shooter is obliged to complete is solely determined by the number of classes of handguns that are legally "owned" by that person — not the actual quantity of handguns owned. A minimum number of matches is required yearly to retain ownership for each class of handgun and continue being a paid-up member of an approved pistol club, and it varies between states. To be eligible for a Category H Licence, a target shooter must serve a probationary period of at least 6 months and have to participate a minimum number of shooting sessions using club handguns, after which they are required to leave a fingerprint record with the police before applying for a permit. Target shooters are limited to handguns below .38 or 9mm calibers, and magazines may hold a maximum of 10 rounds. Participants in certain "approved" pistol competitions (currently only Single Action Shooting and Metallic Silhouette) may acquire handguns up to .45 caliber. IPSC shooting is approved for 9mm/.38/.357 SIG for handguns that meet the IPSC rules. Larger calibres such as .45 were approved for IPSC contests in Victoria in 2014. The barrel must be at least long for revolvers, and for semi-automatic pistols, unless the pistols are clearly ISSF target pistols. Centrefire handguns with a caliber greater than .45 are considered restricted firearms, whose ownership require a Category R/E Licence (see below).
Category R/E Restricted weapons include military weapons such as machine guns, rocket launchers, full automatic self-loading rifles, flamethrowers and anti-tank guns in some states.
Certain antique firearms (generally muzzleloading black powder flintlock firearms manufactured before 1 January 1901) can in some states be legally held without a licence.In ACT: (2)(a); In NSW: (1); In Qld: Schedule 2; In SA: for definition of 'antique firearm', see , for exemption, see: In other states they are subject to the same requirements as modern firearms.In Vic: definition of an 'antique firearm', see section 3, for licensing, see sections 22–23; In Tas: (1); In WA:(1)(b).
In certain states, firearms that "substantially duplicates military-style rifles in design, function or appearance" are subjected to harsher regulations. Some jurisdictions apply appearance‑based criteria when classifying firearms. Under these provisions, a firearm may be placed in a more restrictive category if regulators determine that it has a "military‑style" appearance, regardless of its internal mechanism.ABC News…WA Police…
Licensing The states issue firearms licences upon satisfying the requirement for a genuine reason, such as hunting, sport shooting, pest control, collecting and for farmers and farm workers. Licences must be renewed every 3 or 5 years (or 10 years in the Northern Territory, South Australia & Queensland). Full licence-holders must be at least 18 years of age.
Junior licences in Victoria and New South Wales are available from 12 years of age (Or 11 if in Queensland), this allows the use of firearms for the purpose of receiving instruction in the use of the firearm or engaging in sport or target shooting competitions.
Licences are prohibited for convicted offenders and those with a history of mental illness.
In May 2018 Victoria introduced firearm prohibition orders to reduce firearm related-crime by targeting those who want to possess, use or carry firearms for unlawful purposes. The person served with an order must immediately surrender any firearm or firearm related item in their possession and the firearms licence is cancelled.
Persons or companies conducting a business involving the buying, selling or trading of firearms or ammunition must obtain a firearm dealers licence, and firearms repairers must hold a firearms repairer's licence. These must be renewed annually.
Compliance with National Firearms Agreement A 2017 study commissioned by Gun Control Australia found that Australian states had significantly weakened gun laws since the National Firearms Agreement was first introduced, with no jurisdiction fully compliant with the Agreement. For example, many states now allow children to fire guns under strict supervision and the mandatory 28 day cooling-off period required for gun purchases has been relaxed, with no waiting period for purchasers who already own at least one gun. New South Wales also allows the limited use of moderators via a permit even though they are supposed to be a prohibited weapon. No state or territory has outlined a timeframe for achieving full compliance with the National Firearms Agreement.
A 2019 study commissioned by Gun Control Australia stated that in the past 20 years, the number of hunters, sporting shooters, and licensed gun owners in Australia has declined, while the total number of firearms has increased. Despite extensive gun law reforms following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, the number of privately owned firearms in Australia has increased. As of the latest available data, there are over four million registered firearms nationwide—25% more than in 1996—and nearly one million firearm licenses issued across states and territories. NSW has the most guns, with 1,125,553 registered firearms, followed by Queensland with 1,076,140 registered firearms.
State-specific changes Queensland developments (2024–2025) In June 2024, Queensland enacted a Firearm Prohibition Order (FPO) scheme under the Community Safety Act, empowering police to temporarily prohibit individuals deemed "high‑risk" from possessing, using, or acquiring firearms, and to conduct compliance searches on their person, vehicles, or residence.
As of July 2025, amendments to the Explosives Act 1999 require electronic verification of firearms licences before any small-arms ammunition sale, whether in-store or online, aiming to enhance regulatory compliance.
A black market gun crisis in Queensland came to light in early 2025, with over 3,000 firearms reported stolen in the previous five years and more than 2,000 still missing. In 2024–25, police revoked 870 firearm licences due to disqualifying factors (e.g., domestic violence, mental health concerns), and launched Operation Whiskey Firestorm—a crackdown on illicit firearm ownership.