Summarised by Centrist
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has announced a full repeal and rewrite of the Arms Act 1983, promising a fairer, simpler, and more effective firearms regime.
Cabinet has agreed to create a new, standalone firearms regulator, independent of the police, to oversee licensing, registration, and enforcement.
The new authority will have its own chief executive appointed by the Governor-General. Police will remain responsible for law enforcement but will no longer manage the licensing system.
McKee said the reform aims to “rebuild the trust” of law-abiding gun owners while tightening oversight. “This will address perceptions among some members of the community that the current internal review process is not sufficiently independent,” she said.
The package also includes stronger penalties for more than 60 gun crimes, eight new offences targeting black-market weapons and 3D-printed firearms, and an automatic ban on gang members holding gun licences. A new “red flag” system will allow agencies to share intelligence about potentially unsafe licence holders.
McKee said the rewrite would remove “ambiguity” in current storage laws to help renters, students, and people living in shared homes.
While ACT had sought to allow limited club use of semi-automatic weapons, McKee said coalition partners did not agree, and she “was prepared to agree to disagree on it, and not die in a ditch over it.”
The proposed legislation, part of the ACT-National coalition agreement, will undergo a six-month select committee process.
Image: By Black Lotus Coalition / Joseph the parrot / Rsmith28
