Changes to Gun and Protest Laws (NSW)
Following the horrific shooting at a Hannukah celebration at Bondi on December 14, the New South Wales government has passed urgent legislation making changes to the state’s gun and protest laws. This page outlines the changes, and the community responses to them.
Legislation
The Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendments Bill 2025 makes changes to the Crimes Act 1900, the Firearms Act 1996, the Summary Offences Act 1988, the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 and the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002.
Changes to gun laws
The principal changes that have been made to New South Wales gun laws are as follows:
- A person may no longer possess more than four firearms (with exceptions for primary producers, farmers, and professional shooters)
- A person who holds a gun license must have a gun club membership
- Safe storage checks may be required before a license is renewed
- There is no longer a right to appeal to NCAT against a negative decision on an application for a firearms license
- Before a firearms license is granted, police must be satisfied that the applicant has not been investigated for associated with terrorism offences
- Magazine capacity for category A and B firearms is limited
- Only primary producers may possess straight-pull, pump action, and button/lever release firearms
- Belt-fed magazines are now banned
A gun buyback program has also been announced, funded jointly by the Commonwealth government and state and territory governments, under which hundreds of thousands of firearms are expected to be collected and destroyed.
Changes to protest laws
Under the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002, the commissioner of police may make a declaration that an incident is a terrorist act. This activates the powers contained in Part 2AAA of the Terrorism (Police Powers) Act 2002.
Under the changes, when a declaration is made, the police commissioner may now restrict authorised assemblies in designated areas for a period of 14 days at a time, extendable to a total period of three months.
A restriction may be made if the police commissioner is satisfied that the holding of public assemblies in the area is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety, to fear harassment or intimidation, or that it would be likely to cause a risk to community safety.
During this period, no new public assemblies can be authorised, and police may move people on if their presence causes fear, obstructs traffic, or if they are harassing or intimidating members of the public.
Police may also require a person who is taking part in a public assembly to remove a head covering if they believe the person is going to commit an offence.
Hate symbols
The Bill has also expanded New South Wales’ criminal laws with regard to public displays of hate symbols.
These laws have now been extended to include the display of symbols associated with terrorist group such as ISIS, Hamas and Hezbollah.
The maximum penalty that can be imposed for such an offence has been extended to imprisonment for two years, or a fine of $22,000.
Responses to the changes
The changes have been met with a mixed response.
While there has been widespread approval of the tightened gun laws, with many people feeling that they are necessary in the interests of public safety, there has been some disagreement as to whether the specific changes implemented will be effective.
There has also been some opposition from gun owners, who have criticised the changes as unfairly penalising law-abiding firearms users, and as being misdirected and unnecessary.
The changes to protest laws have provoked outrage from civil libertarians, lawyers and human rights groups, who have called them draconian and an erosion of democratic freedoms. The changes have also been criticised for being unrelated to what occurred in the Bondi shooting. In particular, some voices have criticised the laws as being targeted at pro-Palestinian activism, saying that linking terrorism to these sorts of demonstrations risks conflicting legitimate political expression with extremism and violence.
The government says that that the laws will strengthen police powers, tighten gun ownership rules, and reduce the risk of future violence or harm by ensuring that only appropriate people get guns and allowing authorities to manage public safety during high-risk periods.
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Fernanda Dahlstrom is a writer, editor and lawyer. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (Latrobe University), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (College of Law), a Bachelor of Arts (The University of Melbourne) and a Master of Arts (Deakin University). Fernanda practised law for eight years, working in criminal law, child protection and domestic violence law in the Northern Territory, and in family law in Queensland.