Australia Launches Nationwide Gun Buyback After Deadly Bondi Beach Shooting

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced the launch of a national firearm buyback scheme in response to the deadly shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, aiming to reduce the number of guns in civilian hands across the country.
Speaking in Canberra, Albanese said the federal government will fund a nationwide program to purchase and permanently destroy surplus, newly banned, and illegal firearms. The initiative will be modeled on Australia’s landmark gun buyback introduced after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which led to sweeping reforms of the country’s gun laws.
The Bondi Beach attack, which claimed 15 lives, was the deadliest mass shooting in Australia in nearly three decades. The incident has reignited public debate over gun safety, particularly as firearm ownership has continued to rise despite strict regulations. According to the prime minister, Australia now has more than 4 million firearms in circulation—significantly more than at the time of the 1996 tragedy.
Under the new scheme, state and territory governments will manage the collection, processing, and compensation for surrendered weapons, while federal authorities will oversee their destruction. Albanese said the government expects hundreds of thousands of firearms to be removed from the community through the program.
The buyback is intended to reinforce Australia’s long-standing approach to gun control, emphasizing public safety and prevention in the wake of one of the nation’s most shocking acts of violence in recent history.