Australia Announces Major Gun Buyback Scheme in Wake of the Bondi Beach Massacre

In a dramatic policy shift sparked by one of the deadliest episodes of gun violence in decades, the Australian federal government has unveiled a sweeping national gun buyback scheme in the aftermath of the Bondi Beach mass shooting that claimed 15 lives and left dozens more injured during a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney on 14 December 2025. The announcement reflects a broad consensus — shared across state and federal leaders — that Australia’s already stringent gun laws need strengthening to prevent future violence.

A National Response to Tragedy

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the new buyback program at a press conference on 19 December 2025, describing it as “largest since the 1996 Port Arthur buyback” — a hallmark policy that followed Australia’s worst mass shooting and reshaped the country’s firearms regime. Under the proposal, the federal government would work with state and territory governments to purchase and destroy surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms currently in circulation.

Albanese framed the initiative as a necessary step to enhance public safety, noting that one of the Bondi attackers legally owned six high-powered rifles, despite living in a Sydney suburb where such access should have raised questions. “There’s no reason someone in those circumstances needed that many guns,” he said.

Scale and Scope: What the Scheme Entails

The gun buyback is designed to remove a large number of firearms from Australian communities. It would target guns that are currently surplus to legitimate needs, firearms that are rendered illegal under new laws being debated, and weapons already held outside the law.

Under the plan:

• States and territories would handle the collection and processing of surrendered guns.
• The Australian Federal Police (AFP) would be responsible for their destruction.
• Compensation would be provided to owners who hand in qualifying firearms.
• The cost would be shared 50:50 between federal and state governments.

While fine details — such as exact compensation rates, timelines and exemptions for sporting or rural stakeholders — are yet to be finalised, the government has signalled that further consultation with stakeholders and law enforcement will shape the rollout.

Historical Context: Port Arthur and the Legacy of Gun Reform

Australia’s existing gun laws trace back to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, when a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania. In response, the federal government under then-Prime Minister John Howard introduced the National Firearms Agreement (NFA) and a nationwide buyback program that collected and destroyed over 650,000 firearms — widely credited with dramatically reducing mass shootings and other gun deaths.

The Albanese government’s move explicitly echoes this precedent. The buyback program now being proposed is being described as the largest in nearly three decades, a stark symbol of how profoundly the Bondi attack has shaken national thinking on firearms policy.

Strengthening Gun Laws Beyond Buybacks

The buyback is only one component of a broader suite of gun control reforms agreed to by the National Cabinet — a forum that brings together federal and state leaders. Other measures being pursued in tandem include:

• Accelerating the creation of a national firearms register, which has been in development but not yet fully implemented.
• Limiting the number of guns a person can hold.
• Making Australian citizenship a prerequisite for holding a firearms licence.
• Tightening restrictions on weapon types and magazine capacities.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke described the buyback as a piece of “a larger puzzle” in preventing future firearms violence, reinforcing that legislative reform would be critical to the scheme’s success.

Political Dynamics and Parliamentary Pathway

Labor will need to pass legislation to fund and formally authorise the buyback scheme, a process that could take weeks or months depending on parliamentary scheduling and negotiation with opposition parties. While there appears to be broad political agreement on strengthening gun laws in principle, the level of bipartisan support on specific buyback mechanics is not yet fully cemented.

The Coalition has expressed cautious support for a “sensible and proportionate” review of gun laws, but some members have urged a focus on other issues such as antisemitism and broader extremism responses, arguing against using the attack as a pretext for sweeping reforms without thorough public debate.

Public Reaction and Community Mourning

The buyback announcement coincided with a period of national reflection and mourning. A day of reflection has been declared for 21 December 2025 to honour the victims of the Bondi attack, with flags flown at half-mast and communities around the country holding moments of silence.

Surfers, swimmers and local residents have also paid tribute through paddle-outs and memorial vigils, highlighting a widespread desire for unity even as political debate intensifies around practical responses.

Criticism and Debate

While many Australians support efforts to reduce firearms risks, critics warn against overly broad policies that could unduly penalise responsible gun owners or fail to address underlying causes of violence such as radicalisation and hate. Others have questioned whether legislative focus on guns might distract from other urgent needs, including counter-extremism measures and social cohesion initiatives.

The discussion resurrects familiar debates in Australian public life — between safety and liberty, between national standards and state control, and between symbolic reforms and concrete prevention strategies. How these tensions are resolved in coming legislative sessions will shape the country’s approach to firearms policy for years.

What Comes Next

Now that the strategic direction has been announced, policymakers, law enforcement, gun owners’ groups, rural stakeholders and community advocates will engage in consultation and negotiation on specifics. Draft legislation will be tabled in federal parliament, and states will work on aligning their own frameworks to support the buyback.

For many, the gun buyback represents both a policy response and a symbolic moment — a reaffirmation of Australia’s historic stance against gun violence, reinvigorated by grief and resolve in the shadow of the Bondi Beach massacre. Whether it will achieve its goals, and how it will coexist with other national priorities, remains one of the defining policy challenges of Australia’s 2025 legislative session.