At least 15 people were killed at Bondi Beach in Sydney when a father and son opened fire on a crowd celebrating the start of Hanukkah. At least 42 people were hospitalized. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the attack a “terrorist incident” targeting Jewish Australians. The massacre, rare in Australia, has prompted leaders to push for tighter gun controls.
Australia’s current strict regime traces to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, when 35 people were killed. Then-prime minister John Howard led a bipartisan push that produced the National Firearms Agreement (NFA). The NFA banned many semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns and created a national buyback program that removed more than 650,000 guns. It also harmonized previously disparate state and territory firearms rules into a national framework. Researchers credit the reforms with dramatically reducing firearm deaths and producing more than two decades without a mass shooting.
Despite that history, firearm ownership has risen in recent years. A January report from The Australia Institute estimated more than 4 million guns in the country—about 25% higher than in 1996—and said some NFA provisions have been inconsistently applied or weakened. The gun lobby has argued it is making gains. That backdrop has intensified calls for renewed action after the Bondi attack.
What officials have proposed
At a meeting of the National Cabinet—composed of the prime minister and the state and territory premiers and chief ministers—Albanese and regional leaders agreed to pursue stronger measures. The main proposals include:
– Renegotiating and tightening the National Firearms Agreement.
– Speeding up the establishment of a National Firearms Register, a nationwide database of firearms owners and licenses first proposed in 2023.
– Using more criminal intelligence in the firearms licensing process.
– Limiting how many guns a single person can own.
– Restricting types of firearms and modifications that are legal.
– Requiring firearms licenses only for Australian citizens.
– Introducing additional customs controls on guns and related equipment, including limits on imports tied to 3D printing or high-capacity accessories.
Leaders also reaffirmed commitment to the national firearms amnesty, which allows people to surrender unregistered weapons without penalty.
Some proposed changes appear aimed at details connected to the Bondi attack. Albanese said the son had been on ASIO’s radar in 2019 for ties to an Islamic State cell in Sydney. Authorities noted the son is Australian-born; the father arrived in 1998 on a student visa, later had a partner visa and most recently held a resident return visa.
How Australia can move quickly
Australia’s National Cabinet, created in 2020 to coordinate pandemic responses, enables rapid intergovernmental agreement on national priorities. While the Cabinet does not itself pass laws, it helps federal and state leaders align on strategies that their respective parliaments can then implement. That mechanism, combined with a history of bipartisan cooperation on gun reform, helps Australia act faster on high-priority national issues than many countries.
Public and political support
Strong gun laws remain broadly popular in Australia. A January poll by The Australia Institute found 64% of Australians want stronger gun laws and only 6% want rollbacks. Compulsory voting and a political culture that tends toward the center reduce polarization and make cross-party consensus more achievable.
Reflections from history and victims’ families
John Howard has said watching gun culture in the U.S. influenced his belief that ready availability of guns increases the likelihood of massacres and that Australia should avoid that path. Survivors’ families from Port Arthur have continued to advocate vigilance. Walter Mikac, who lost his wife and two daughters in the 1996 massacre and is founding patron of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, urged renewed commitment to community safety and to ensuring gun laws protect all Australians.
What happens next
Agreement at the National Cabinet sets the political direction, but changes require action in federal and state parliaments and implementation of measures like a national register. Officials have signaled urgency; how quickly specific laws or regulations change will depend on legislative processes across jurisdictions and on the detailed design of proposed measures such as licensing reforms, ownership limits, and customs restrictions.