The Coming November Gun Buybacks: Compulsory Confiscation by Another Name — and What It Means (or Doesn’t) for South Australia

In the wake of the December 14, 2025 Bondi Beach attack, in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration by attackers using legally obtained firearms, the Albanese government moved quickly to tighten Australia's already strict gun laws. Legislation followed in early 2026 establishing a National Gun Buyback Scheme, ownership caps, reclassifications of certain firearms, shorter licence terms, and tighter checks. The centrepiece was meant to be a nationwide, jointly funded buyback of surplus, newly prohibited or reclassified guns, modelled loosely on John Howard's post-Port Arthur program of 1996–97.

That national ambition has largely collapsed. As of mid-August 2026, New South Wales is the only state that has fully signed up and will commence the scheme. From Monday 2 November 2026, NSW will open Phase 1 of its buyback.

What NSW is Actually Doing

NSW has already legislated hard ownership limits: most individual licence holders are capped at four firearms; primary producers and certain sport shooters at ten. Firearms that push an owner over those limits, or that have been reclassified/prohibited under the new federal and state rules, must be surrendered. The government estimates roughly 50,000 licence holders and up to 274,000 registered firearms (about a quarter of NSW's total) are affected.

Phase 1 (starting 2 November 2026) offers fixed compensation:

Handgun revolver: $1,000

Semi-automatic handgun: $850

Double-barrel shotgun: $850

Single-barrel shotgun: $650

Rimfire rifle: $600

Centrefire rifle: $1,000

Air rifle: $450

A flat fee is also paid for associated ammunition. Phase 2, due early 2027, will allow a valuations pathway for higher-value firearms (indicative market value above $3,000), capped at $10,000 per gun. Costs of compensation are split 50/50 between the Commonwealth and NSW; the Commonwealth fully funds destruction. Industry support (grants up to $25,000, licence-fee relief) is also available.

Officials describe the process as voluntary participation in a compensation scheme. In practice, once the ownership caps and reclassifications take effect, continuing to hold excess or prohibited firearms becomes unlawful. Owners face a choice: hand them in for the scheduled payment or risk criminal liability. That is why many gun owners and critics describe it not as a classic "buyback" but as compulsory confiscation with partial compensation, the same dynamic that characterised the 1996 national scheme, only this time applied to previously legal, registered firearms that simply exceed new numerical limits. Fixed prices may also fall well short of actual market or sentimental value for many pieces.

The scheme is expected to run for about a year. NSW Police will administer it through the Firearms Registry and a "Gun Safe Portal."

South Australia: Not Participating

South Australia has refused to join. Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis has been explicit: the state will not divert funds from health, disability and cost-of-living priorities into a co-funded scheme. He has pointed out that the Howard-era buyback was fully Commonwealth-funded and has invited Canberra to run an equivalent fully federal program if it wishes. Premier Peter Malinauskas has stated that South Australia has "got the balance right," has no plans to amend its firearm laws in line with the federal push for numerical caps, and views the overwhelming majority of SA licence holders as responsible and law-abiding.

Other jurisdictions have taken similar or firmer positions. Queensland and the Northern Territory have rejected both the buyback and ownership caps. Victoria has not signed on. Western Australia has already run its own substantial buyback and is not proceeding with a second, Bondi-linked national scheme on the proposed terms. Tasmania and the ACT have shown more openness in principle, but funding remains unresolved. The result is that the "National" Gun Buyback Scheme is, for now, essentially a New South Wales scheme with federal cost-sharing.

What This Means for South Australian Gun Owners in November

Nothing material changes in South Australia on 2 November 2026. There will be no state-mandated surrender of excess firearms, no new numerical ownership caps forced by the federal scheme, and no SA-administered compensation process. Licensed owners in SA continue under existing state law. They are not required to hand anything in to NSW Police or anyone else simply because NSW has chosen to proceed.

That does not mean the issue is closed. Federal ministers continue to urge other states to join, arguing that "gun laws are only as strong as the weakest state" and that firearms can cross borders. National Cabinet remains a venue for pressure. Future federal funding incentives, further legislative changes, or political shifts after state elections could still alter the landscape. But as of August 2026, SA has drawn a clear line: no co-funding, no new state-level caps tied to the Bondi response, and no November buyback.

The Broader Pattern

Australia has conducted multiple firearm amnesties and buybacks since 1996. Each is presented as a voluntary public-safety measure. Each, in practice, rests on the prior criminalisation of previously lawful ownership. The 2026 NSW scheme follows the same template: change the legal limit, then offer compensation for compliance. Whether one views this as prudent risk reduction after a terrorist atrocity or as incremental erosion of legitimate ownership rights depends on one's priors about the effectiveness of numerical caps versus other interventions (licensing integrity, mental-health screening, extremism monitoring, border controls on parts and 3D-printed components).

What is not in dispute is the federal structure. NSW has chosen to act. South Australia has chosen not to. For SA firearm owners, the November "national" buyback therefore remains someone else's program, at least for now.

Here is a background Alor.org paper that has become relevant again, only for New South Wales, so far. It presents a constitutional law case against the gun grab.

https://blog.alor.org/a-constitutional-challenge-to-the-new-gun-laws-by-ian-wilson-ll-b

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3p4hZvBbs0.