New South Wales has moved to pass a sweeping law package after the Bondi Beach mass shooting that killed 15 people. The reforms would cap private gun ownership, ban public display of extremist symbols and allow authorities to prohibit protests for up to three months following a terrorist incident. The federal government is pursuing tougher hate-speech offences, an extremist group register and a major gun buyback.
New South Wales Moves To Approve Sweeping Gun Reforms And Temporary Protest Ban After Bondi Massacre
A police helicopter patrols over the Bondi Beach as life gradually returns to normal following seven days of mourning, a week after the Bondi Beach shooting attack, in Sydney on December 22, 2025 (Saeed KHAN)(Saeed KHAN/AFP/AFP)
New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, moved on Tuesday to enact a package of strict firearm measures and to give authorities temporary powers to restrict protests after the deadliest mass shooting in the country in decades.
What lawmakers propose: The recalled state parliament has been presented with legislation described by the government as the 'toughest firearm reforms in the country.' Key elements include capping private gun ownership at four firearms (with up to ten allowed for exempted groups such as farmers), banning the public display of what the bill calls 'terrorist symbols,' and empowering authorities to prohibit protests for up to three months following a terrorist incident.
Federal actions: At the national level, the government is advancing complementary measures that would create an aggravated offence for hate preaching, introduce penalties for those accused of attempting to radicalise minors, establish a register of alleged extremist organisations that it would become illegal to join, and fund a large gun buyback program to reimburse owners who surrender surplus, newly banned or illegal firearms. Officials say the buyback would be the largest since the 1996 program that followed the Port Arthur massacre.
Reaction and legal challenge
State Premier Chris Minns said the package was designed to "keep the people of New South Wales safe," pointing to tighter gun regulation and protest restrictions as measures intended to "lower the temperature in Sydney."
A coalition of civil society groups has pledged a constitutional challenge to the protest provisions. Palestine Action Group Sydney, one of the groups involved in the planned legal action, accused the government of "pushing through legislation without due process, attacking our fundamental right to protest" and of drawing "unsubstantiated and plainly dishonest links between antisemitism and the Palestine solidarity movement."
Details of the Bondi attack
Authorities say father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram deliberately targeted a Hanukkah gathering at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people in what officials have described as an antisemitic terrorist attack. Police documents released Monday say the pair conducted firearms training in rural New South Wales and had "meticulously planned" the assault over several months.
Investigators also allege the two recorded a video in October in which they denounced 'Zionists' while seated in front of an Islamic State flag and that they carried out reconnaissance of Bondi Beach days before the attack.
One alleged shooter, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police at the scene. Sajid, an Indian national, is reported to have entered Australia on a visa in 1998. His son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, an Australian-born citizen, was transferred from hospital to Long Bay Correctional Complex in southeastern Sydney and was charged last week with 15 counts of murder, an alleged 'terrorist act' and planting a bomb with intent to harm. He has not yet entered a plea.
Legislative debate was expected to continue into the night as the state’s upper house prepared to vote on the package.
