Fresh reporting from The Australian and Sky News Australia has highlighted growing uncertainty around the Federal Government’s proposed national firearms buyback, with several states declining to participate and key details of the scheme still unresolved more than six months after its announcement.
The proposed buyback formed part of a broader package of firearm reforms announced following the Bondi terrorist attack in December 2025. However, momentum behind the proposal appears to have slowed considerably, with Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory all signalling they will not participate in a national buyback scheme.
According to reports, New South Wales may be the only jurisdiction to ultimately proceed with the proposal, while South Australia remains in discussions and Tasmania continues to pursue its own reforms.
The reports also suggest concerns have emerged within Federal Labor ranks about the potential political impact of the proposal in regional electorates, particularly amid growing support for One Nation.
Questions also remain around how the scheme would operate, including how surrendered firearms would be valued, what categories of firearms may be included and whether ammunition would form part of any compensation arrangements.
Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana criticised the lack of progress and suggested jurisdictions may be reconsidering whether the proposed measures align with the actual risk profile presented by licensed firearm owners.
“With the clarity of hindsight, some states are thinking, ‘Does limiting the number of firearms mirror up to the statistics, arrests and interactions we’re having with firearm licence holders?’” Mr Caruana told The Australian.
Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia chief executive James Walsh also expressed frustration over the absence of detail surrounding the proposal and its potential impacts on industry.
SSAA Inc. CEO Tom Kenyon said recent evidence presented to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion raised important questions about where failures occurred prior to the Bondi attack.
“The longer the buyback stalls, the further it goes backwards,” Mr Kenyon said.
“The Royal Commission is proving that gun laws weren’t the problem – it was a terrorism problem and a failure of intelligence collection and sharing.”
Mr Kenyon’s comments follow evidence presented to the commission indicating the Bondi offender had previously been investigated by ASIO and highlighting concerns about information-sharing arrangements between agencies.
Queensland recently rejected recommendations for a national buyback, citing concerns that the measure would not effectively prevent terrorists or criminals from accessing firearms. Victoria has similarly ruled out participation, although it has agreed to progress other reforms, including restricting firearm ownership to Australian citizens and strengthening intelligence-sharing arrangements.
At the time of writing, the Federal Government has indicated discussions with states and territories remain ongoing and that further details of any potential buyback scheme will be released in due course.
As debate continues, the focus increasingly appears to be shifting toward ensuring reforms are evidence-based, targeted at criminal misuse of firearms and informed by the lessons emerging from the ongoing Royal Commission process.