New Zealand Removes Police from Gun Licensing but Keeps Near-Total Semiautomatic Ban

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The New Zealand government announced major changes to how firearms are regulated, including removing uniformed police officers from the country's firearms licensing regulator while preserving the near-total ban on semiautomatic weapons introduced after the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.

What the reforms do

Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee said the Firearms Safety Authority (FSA) — created in 2022 after a public inquiry into the Christchurch massacre — will be restructured so it reports directly to the government rather than to the head of New Zealand Police. The move is intended to ease long-standing tensions between the regulator and licensed firearms owners.

Key changes include:

• Removing uniformed police from the FSA: the 15 officers currently attached to the authority will return to frontline policing, though police will continue to enforce firearms-related criminal laws.
• Establishing the FSA as a more independent legal entity while continuing to share some corporate services with Police and relying on law-enforcement databases.
• Simplifying licensing rules: longer renewal windows to address administrative backlogs and more flexibility around lawful storage rules.
• Keeping the near-total semiautomatic weapons ban intact: a Cabinet decision rejected a proposal to relax the ban for some sports shooters.
• Introducing a "red flag" information-sharing mechanism and tighter controls on 3D-printed guns, though not to the full extent previously sought by Police.

Background

In March 2019, an Australian-born attacker killed 51 people at two Christchurch mosques. The attacker, Brenton Tarrant, had legally obtained firearms and semiautomatic weapons after becoming radicalized online. Following the massacre, lawmakers tightened licensing requirements, introduced a near-complete ban on semiautomatic firearms and created the Firearms Safety Authority to improve oversight.

"None of us want to see that again," McKee said, while also describing some of the post-attack changes as "rushed, confused and unfair."

Reactions and next steps

Hugh Devereux-Mack, a spokesperson for the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (which McKee formerly led), welcomed the removal of police from licensing work but expressed disappointment that the bill did not redefine who qualifies as a "fit and proper" person to hold a firearms licence. He urged gun owners to make submissions on the draft legislation.

McKee said the replacement legislation for the Arms Act was still being drafted and was expected to be introduced to Parliament before the end of the year, with a target to pass by mid-2026. Her Act Party is part of a three-party, centre-right coalition with the numbers to pass the reforms without cross-party support.

Implication: The changes aim to rebuild trust with licensed firearms owners and simplify compliance, while maintaining strict limits on semiautomatic weapons and strengthening certain controls such as 3D-printed gun rules and cross-agency information sharing.