The NSW Liberal Party has shown support for a new legislative bill, while the Nationals have expressed their opposition, criticizing it for imposing what they describe as “arbitrary limits” on farmers.

This legislation traces its origins to a broader effort to tighten gun control laws and outlines several key provisions.

One significant aspect of the bill is that gun licenses will be restricted to Australian citizens, though there are exceptions for certain New Zealand permanent residents based on their occupations.

In a last-minute addition to the legislation, a Greens-proposed amendment was included to prohibit gun ownership for individuals under investigation for terrorism-related activities, extending this ban to members of their households as well.

According to Glissan, the structure of this act is a carefully crafted response to the National Firearms Agreement. This agreement, which established stringent, uniform gun control across Australian states and territories, was enacted in 1996 following the tragic Port Arthur massacre that claimed 35 lives.

What laws were already in place?

Glissan said the architecture of the act reflects a deliberate policy response following the National Firearms Agreement — a set of strict, uniform gun control laws adopted by all Australian state and territory governments in 1996, in response to the Port Arthur massacre, in which 35 people were shot dead.

Glissan said when people had their firearms licences renewed — which will now be every two years following the bill’s passage — it included additional checks to ensure that people’s mental health is not an adverse factor or one that would negatively impact public safety.

How are firearms categorised?

In broad terms, the categories are structured as follows:

• Category A: Rimfire rifles (other than self-loading), single or double-barrelled shotguns, air rifles and paintball guns.
• Category B: Centre-fire rifles, shotgun–rifle combinations and lever-action shotguns, with magazine capacity capped at five rounds.
• Category C: Semi-automatic rimfire rifles and pump-action or semi-automatic shotguns, restricted to specific users such as professional shooters.
• Category D: Semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and other highly restricted firearms, requiring special permissions.
• Category H: Handguns, which operate under a separate probationary and permit-based regime.

Reforms will reclassify straight-pull, pump-action, and button- or lever-release firearms as Category C weapons, effectively prohibiting their use except for limited official purposes, such as farming or pest control.

What are the current limits on numbers?

“You’re restricted to the kind of ammunition that matches the category,” Glissan said, “but you’re not restricted in the amount of ammunition that you can have”.

The new legislation will reduce magazine capacity for Category A and B firearms to a maximum of five to 10 rounds, from the current unlimited capacity.

Who owns the guns?

More than one-third of all registered firearms are owned by individuals living in major cities, and more than one-third by those in inner regional areas.

“From a policing perspective, there is no way any police in Australia can keep up to date,” he said.

What firearms do police carry?

“Prior to about a year ago, police — all police — had 40 calibre, handguns,” he said, referring to Glock 17 pistols.

“The difference between a pistol and a rifle is the equivalent to a knife and a pistol.”

Where are the blind spots?

“It’s really designed to be retrospective or retroactive, and punish issues of non-compliance or safety issues.”