Littleproud's bill would end the national gun buyback
After the terror attack at Bondi in Sydney in December 2025, Parliament rushed through new federal gun rules and a national buyback. MP David Littleproud's bill in the House of Representatives, the larger house of Parliament, would wind most of them back. The new background checks would stay.
Official name: Firearms Legislation Amendment (Repealing Unfair Gun Laws) Bill 2026 (No. 2)
- The National Gun Buyback Scheme would be scrapped.
- New federal crimes about sharing gun and bomb making files online would be removed.
- Rules for bringing guns into Australia would go back to how they were before January 2026.
- The new background checks for gun licences would stay. So would the ban on bringing in violent extremist material.
Who it affects
- Licensed gun owners: There would be no national buyback. Federal rules on bringing in guns would go back to the older settings.
- Gun dealers and importers: The extra import checks added in 2026 would be removed.
- People who share gun or explosive making files online: The new federal crimes for this would be scrapped.
- Police and agencies that gather secret facts about crime and threats: Border officials would lose a special power to pass gun details to the national agency that gathers facts about crime.
Gun laws rushed after Bondi
On 14 December 2025, there was a terror attack at Bondi in Sydney. In January 2026, Parliament passed a new law in a hurry.
Its name is the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Act 2026. Antisemitism means hatred of Jewish people. This article calls it the 2026 law.
The 2026 law did several things. It set up a National Gun Buyback Scheme, where the government pays people to hand in guns.
It widened background checks for gun licences. These checks now include facts from federal spy and police agencies.
It added new checks on bringing guns into Australia. It also made new crimes about using the internet to share material for making guns and bombs.
States and territories run gun licences, who owns guns and how they are stored. So the 2026 law needs their help to work.
The notes that explain this bill say only two signed up to the buyback by the deadline of 30 June 2026. They were New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. The notes say gun owners, dealers and businesses are now unsure where they stand.
David Littleproud, an MP in the House of Representatives, brought this bill. It is a private bill, which means it does not come from the government.
It aims to put federal gun law back to how it was before the 2026 law, with two exceptions. It is almost the same as a Senate bill that Senator Bridget McKenzie brought in during August 2026.
Licence checks would stay
The bill keeps the new background check rules for gun licences from the 2026 law.
It also keeps the 2026 law's ban on bringing in or sending out violent extremist material. The same goes for items showing banned hate symbols. That part of the 2026 law is not touched.
Online gun crimes removed
The 2026 law made it a federal crime to use a phone or internet service to deal in material for making guns and explosives. The material includes things like files or how-to guides for making guns or bombs.
The bill would delete these crimes from the main book of federal crimes. It would also delete the meaning of the words that goes with them.
It would take them off a list of serious crimes in the Crimes Act 1914 too. That list matters for police powers in some investigations.
Other crimes that already exist would still apply. The bill's human rights notes say the general criminal law from before the 2026 law would carry on in full.
Customs and import rules
The 2026 law let two top officials share gun details with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. They are the head of the Home Affairs department and the head of the border service.
That commission gathers and shares facts about crime for police around the country. The bill would remove those sharing powers.
The 2026 law also changed the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956. These rules say which goods need permission to be brought into Australia.
They cover public safety tests for guns and weapons. They also cover the police forms used to approve bringing in guns.
The bill says those rules would work as if the 2026 changes had never been made.
Say you are a licensed shooter bringing in a rifle. You would follow the steps that applied before January 2026.
Ending the gun buyback
The bill would scrap the part of the 2026 law that set up the National Gun Buyback Scheme. No new federal buyback payments could be made under it.
This version is a little shorter than Senator McKenzie's Senate bill. Her bill also changes a tax rule about payments for handing in guns. This House version leaves the tax law alone.
Short term rules
The minister could write short-term rules to help move back to the old law. These rules could only be made in the first six months. They would end after 24 months at most.
The rules could not make crimes or fines. They could not give powers to arrest or search, set taxes or spend money. Parliament could also vote to cancel them.
Start date
If passed, the main changes would start the day after the Governor-General signs it. The Governor-General is the King's stand-in in Australia.
David Littleproud put the bill to the House on 7 September 2026. A vote on its main idea was proposed that day. It is still before the House.
It would need to pass the House and then the Senate, the second house of Parliament, to become law.
Bills from single MPs often wait a long time. Many never come to a vote.
Its journey through Parliament
| 07 Sep 2026 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 07 Sep 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |