Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

NSW to launch cash gun buyback November 2026

8/16/2026

48 10 Full Breakdown

Left

Minns Initiates Gun Buyback

New South Wales will launch a cash-based gun buyback on 2 November 2026, covering eligible handguns, shotguns and rifles.
Critics warn the scheme will cost hundreds of millions yet fail to curb criminal gun use.
The scheme targets 274,000 guns, paying up to A$1,000 and A$10,000 for firearms over A$3,000.
Premier Chris Minns defends the cost, while Opposition leader Kellie Sloane denounces the buyback as “bulls***”.

Right

Minns Launches Buyback

New South Wales will launch a cash-based gun buyback on 2 November 2026, targeting eligible handguns, shotguns and rifles.
Premier Chris Minns said NSW is moving ahead alone, refusing to wait for other states to join the scheme.
Owners may receive up to A$1,000 per gun; firearms could later earn up to $10,000.
Minns expects to collect 274,000 guns—about 24% of NSW’s firearms—under a four-gun per person limit.

Center

Minns Gun Buyback

New South Wales will start a cash-based gun buyback on 2 November 2026, paying owners for eligible handguns, shotguns and rifles.
Businesses and gun dealers may receive up to AUS$25,000 in assistance to adapt to the new reforms.
State law caps individuals at four guns; farmers and shooters can own up to ten.
The program is funded; the federal government pays half of admin costs and all destruction.

Blindspot

Blindspot

Critics say the buyback will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and will not effectively target criminal gun use, according to opposition leader Kellie Sloane and other detractors.
Within this story's sources, this criticism appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

After the 1996 Port Arthur massacre that killed 35 people, Prime Minister John Howard led the National Firearms Agreement, which funded a 12-month buyback that collected roughly 650,000 guns. Building on that precedent, NSW Premier Chris Minns announced a cash-based 2026 buyback targeting 274,000 firearms, aiming to replicate the earlier decline in firearm homicide.

1 of 5

Minns Initiates Gun Buyback

New South Wales will launch a cash-based gun buyback on 2 November 2026, covering eligible handguns, shotguns and rifles.
Critics warn the scheme will cost hundreds of millions yet fail to curb criminal gun use.
The scheme targets 274,000 guns, paying up to A$1,000 and A$10,000 for firearms over A$3,000.
Premier Chris Minns defends the cost, while Opposition leader Kellie Sloane denounces the buyback as “bulls***”.

1 / 5