After Bondi Beach shooting, PM Albanese vows gun law reforms, but Australia has one of the toughest firearms restrictions. What went wrong?

After the Bondi Beach terror shooting, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday (Dec 15) vowed to push for harsher gun laws. Sunday's attack by father–son duo Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram targeted a Jewish Hanukkah festival event, leaving at least 16 people dead, including Sajid, and injuring another 42. While Albanese wants the gun laws tightened, Australia still has one of the world’s strictest gun restrictions. Here is more about it.

What Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said about Bondi Beach shooting

Condemning the attack as an “act of pure evil” and “antisemitic terrorism”, and a deliberate attack on Jewish Australians, Albanese called an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday, pushing for tougher gun laws. The proposals include limits on the number of firearms per licence and periodic reviews, and time limits on licences. It has been mooted that licences should not be issued in perpetuity. There is also a move for greater checks, noting that “people’s circumstances can change”, such as radicalisation, which appears to be behind the Bondi Beach attack.

Albanese said his government “is prepared to take whatever action is necessary”, including reforms for gun law uniformity across states.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns questioned why non-farmers need high-powered weapons.

Australian gun laws were tightened after shocking 1996 massacre

Australia tightened its gun laws after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, in which a lone gunman in Tasmania killed 35 people and injured 23 in an attack using semi-automatic weapons. The then Prime Minister John Howard implemented the National Firearms Agreement, which banned semi-automatic rifles as well as pump-action shotguns.
Licences for guns were made mandatory, with only those with a “genuine reason” allowed to possess them, such as for farming or sport shooting. As per this law, unlike the US, self-defence is not a valid reason for applying for a gun. Registration is required for all firearms. A 28-day cooling-off period is required for any fresh purchases.

Over the years, Australia has held several government-run large-scale buybacks, in which more than 700,000 firearms were secured.

Australian gun reforms helped reduce firearm deaths

Australia has very low gun homicide, with around 33 gun-linked killings recorded nationally in 2023–2024. The gun reforms effectively ended mass shootings, defined as more than four deaths excluding the perpetrator, till the Bondi Beach attack.

But registered firearm numbers are rising. Gun possession is on the rise, with more than 4 million registered firearms in circulation. This is higher per capita than pre-1996 levels, prompting doubts about the efficacy of enforcement and state-level variations. Sajid Akram, the 50-year-old behind the Bondi Beach attack with his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, is a legal owner of six firearms, according to police.

Mass shootings are rare in Australia

Prior to 1996, there were 13 mass shootings in 18 years, but almost no such incidents since Port Arthur.

Smaller incidents were recorded, including the Darwin shooting of 2019, which killed four people, and the 2022 Wieambilla shooting, in which six were killed, including police.

In fact, the most shocking shooting associated with an Australian happened in neighbouring New Zealand, when Brenton Tarrant went on a rampage targeting Christchurch mosques on 15 March 2019. The Australian citizen, who killed 51 people and injured 40 at two mosques, had legally obtained firearms in New Zealand, which at the time had laxer laws on gun ownership. After Christchurch, New Zealand banned all semi-automatics and tightened its laws.

Bondi Beach shooting ended a nearly 30-year track record on gun violence

The Bondi Beach attack is Australia’s deadliest shooting since Port Arthur 1996. The attackers opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration at Archer Park. The victims included a rabbi and a 10-year-old girl, in an incident being probed as an antisemitic terrorist act.