On Sunday Dec. 14, a father and son opened fire on a crowd that had gathered at Sydney’s Bondi Beach to mark the first night of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. By midday Monday, at least 15 people — aged between 10 and 87 — and the older gunman were confirmed dead, and 40 more had been hospitalized.
What was supposed to be a peaceful celebration at Australia’s most iconic beach turned into the country’s deadliest terrorist attack. The incident is a rare instance of a mass-shooting in a country that has tightly regulated firearms.
What are the gun rules in Australia?
Fully-automatic firearms, such as machine guns, and most semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, have since 1996 been largely banned from civilian use under the National Firearms Agreement. Some categories of guns — such as pump-action shotguns and bolt-action rifles as well as other limited-capacity weapons — are permitted under strict circumstances.
Gun ownership is far more tightly regulated than in countries like the US. Although specific requirements vary slightly by state, generally to obtain a full firearm license in Australia you must be an adult, provide proof of a “genuine reason” — such as pest control or recreational hunting — have a safe place to store the weapon and complete a safety course. Before the permit is approved, authorities conduct background checks, including a person’s criminal history as well as court orders related to family violence or mental health issues.
If the gun license is approved, the applicant then needs to lodge a permit for each firearm. After that, they are able to purchase the gun from a licensed firearms dealer, who will notify the state’s registry of the purchase.
The 50-year-old shooter at the Bondi massacre held a gun license and owned six firearms.
How long have these rules been in place?
The rules have been in place since Australia overhauled its gun laws in 1996 following the Port Arthur massacre, when Martin Bryant — a lone gunman — killed 35 people at a Tasmanian tourist site. Federal Parliament, under then newly-elected Prime Minister John Howard, convened days later and moved quickly to tighten national laws.
By the following month, a landmark agreement to undertake gun reform was reached with all states and territories, which included the ban on certain weapons and strict nationwide registration and licensing based on a “genuine” need for ownership.
Because the ban left thousands of Australians holding newly prohibited weapons, the government also implemented a year-long national gun buyback scheme, offering compensation in exchange for weapons and granting amnesty from prosecution. About 600,000 firearms – roughly a quarter of the country’s privately held stock – were surrendered and destroyed between 1996 and 1997, according to a report from the University of New South Wales’ Howard Library.
How effective have the gun rules been?
Australia’s gun-control framework is often cited internationally as a successful model, but the Bondi attack has refocused attention on gaps in its implementation. There are now more firearms in the country than before the overhaul of the gun laws in 1996, according to a May report from The Australia Institute.
The number of registered firearms fell from 3.2 million in 1996 to 2.5 million in 1997, but in the years since has risen to more than 4 million — that’s at least one licensed firearm for every seven Australians, according to the report.
Still, gun violence has remained relatively low on the global scale. There were 31 homicide cases in Australia that involved a firearm in the 12 months to June 30, 2024 — about 12% of total homicide incidents, according to government data. This compares to the US, where about 80% of murders involved a firearm in 2023, according to Pew Research.
Will the gun laws be reviewed?
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has already flagged he will look at tightening gun laws. At a media conference on Dec. 15, he said he would consider tougher laws such as limiting the number of guns a person can own, and more regular reviews of licenses. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns is also looking at toughening gun laws. He said the granting of a firearms license in perpetuity “is clearly not fit for purpose.”
How big is Australia’s black market for guns?
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission says there are more than 260,000 illicit firearms in Australia, and that illegal virtual marketplaces are increasingly allowing criminals to obtain them anonymously.
The illicit firearms market is driven in part by outlaw motorcycle gangs, organized crime groups and other groups engaged in trafficking illicit commodities such as drugs, according to the commission. Most illicit guns find their way to the black market via theft, while a comparatively small amount are illegally manufactured or imported, it said.
(Reporting by Keira Wright. With assistance from Swati Pandey.)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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