Australia’s parliament has approved sweeping gun control reforms and new anti-hate legislation following last month’s deadly shooting at a Jewish festival in Bondi Beach, Sydney.
The bills were passed during a special parliamentary sitting on Tuesday, with lawmakers recalled two weeks early amid public pressure and rising concerns over antisemitism.
The gun reform package introduces a nationwide firearms buyback scheme, tighter checks on gun licence applicants, stricter import controls and improved information-sharing between intelligence agencies and licensing authorities.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the new measures would significantly reduce gun violence, noting that the attackers behind the December 14 shooting would not have legally accessed firearms under the new law.
“Individuals with hate in their hearts and guns in their hands carried out this attack,” Burke told parliament, describing the reforms as necessary to prevent similar tragedies.
The Bondi attack, allegedly carried out by a father and son, left 15 people dead. Authorities said the father legally owned six firearms, while the son had previously been known to intelligence agencies.
The gun reform bill passed the House of Representatives by 96 votes to 45, marking the most significant overhaul of Australia’s gun laws since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which claimed 35 lives and led to some of the world’s strictest firearm controls.
Burke said the buyback scheme would target surplus and newly restricted weapons, reducing the country’s estimated four million registered firearms. He added that many Australians would be surprised to learn that gun ownership levels had surpassed those recorded before the Port Arthur tragedy.
Separately, parliament passed an anti-hate bill aimed at strengthening penalties for hate speech and hate-motivated offences. The legislation received support from governing Labor lawmakers and the Liberal Party, while coalition partners abstained.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had faced criticism in the aftermath of the Bondi shooting, with members of the Jewish community expressing fears over rising antisemitism and demanding stronger government action.
The anti-hate provisions were initially bundled with the gun reforms but were split into a separate bill after opposition parties and the Greens signalled resistance to the combined legislation.
The government said the new laws are designed to strengthen public safety, curb extremist violence and reinforce Australia’s commitment to social cohesion.