The Albanese Government and ACT Government have reached an agreement to establish a firearms buyback scheme in the Australian Capital Territory, with the Commonwealth to fund most of the costs.
Under the agreement, the Commonwealth will cover 75 per cent of compensation and administration costs, as well as the full cost of destroying surrendered firearms.
The ACT has more than 7,000 firearms licence holders and about 23,000 registered firearms. The territory government estimates about 14 per cent of licence holders could be affected by a proposed cap on the number of firearms they can possess.
The buyback forms part of a broader package of firearms reforms being pursued by the ACT Government following the national response to last year’s deadly antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said stronger national gun laws were necessary to improve community safety.
“We’re taking action to strengthen Australia’s gun laws and keep our communities safe.”
The ACT Government introduced the Firearms (Public Safety) Amendment Bill 2026 in February. The proposed legislation would limit the number of firearms a licence holder can possess or use, re-categorise certain firearms, prohibit belt-fed firearms and create an offence for possessing digital blueprints used to manufacture firearms or firearm parts.
A separate bill would establish a firearm prohibition order scheme, giving police additional powers to prevent high-risk individuals from accessing firearms.
Both bills remain before the ACT Legislative Assembly and are expected to be debated during the spring sittings.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the agreement would provide greater consistency between jurisdictions and help reduce the number of high-risk firearms in circulation.
The ACT Government said further details about the buyback, including eligibility, compensation and the process for surrendering firearms, would be released once the agreement is finalised.
ACT Policing Chief Police Officer Scott Lee backed the scheme, saying reducing the number of firearms in circulation could reduce the risk of legally owned weapons being stolen and diverted to organised crime or people with extremist ideologies.
The ACT Government is also developing a digital firearms registry that will be integrated with the National Firearms Register and provide police with real-time access to firearms data.
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