Australia has unveiled a nationwide gun buyback program following the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach, the most serious mass shooting the country has experienced in decades.
The decision was taken after an attack on Sunday in which two gunmen opened fire during a Jewish cultural event, killing 15 people and injuring many others. Authorities have classified the incident as a terrorist act and say the attackers were motivated by extremist ideology.
The new buyback initiative is the largest since the 1996 Port Arthur tragedy, which led to sweeping gun law reforms in Australia. Federal and state governments will jointly fund the program, which aims to remove surplus, newly prohibited and illegal firearms from circulation. Officials estimate that hundreds of thousands of weapons will be collected and destroyed.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia now has more than four million registered firearms, exceeding levels recorded before the Port Arthur reforms. He stressed that recent events have exposed weaknesses in the current system, including cases where licensed individuals held multiple firearms without clear justification.
The national cabinet, bringing together federal, state and territory leaders, has also agreed on broader reforms. These include limits on the number of firearms an individual may own, tighter licensing rules, restrictions on certain types of weapons and a requirement that firearm licence holders be Australian citizens.
In addition, work on a national firearms register will be fast-tracked, while regulators will be given expanded access to criminal intelligence to strengthen oversight and enforcement.
Police investigations into the Bondi attack are ongoing. Authorities confirmed that a small group of men detained in Sydney over extremist views would be released, though they remain under monitoring. New South Wales Police said there is no confirmed link between those individuals and the Bondi attackers, despite concerns about potential risks at public locations.
Officials say the combined measures are intended to reduce gun violence, limit access to firearms and strengthen national security, while reinforcing Australia’s long-standing commitment to strict gun control.
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