Case Explained: Australia passes strict gun control and hate crime legislation – JURIST – Legal Perspective

Australian Parliament passed new gun control and expanded hate crime legislation on Tuesday as measures to combat antisemitism, extremism, and gun violence following last month’s Bondi Beach shooting.

The Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism laws realize leadership promises to enact tougher laws on firearms and hate-motivated violence. The combined acts establish a National Gun Buyback Scheme, introduce a new aggravated offense for the promotion of religious violence, and impose stricter regulations on immigration and importation. Additionally, the reforms limit gun-licensing to Australian citizens. Applying the new legislation, the Bondi Beach shooters would have been barred from gun ownership.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans to tighten firearm restrictions after two gunmen killed 15 people attending a Jewish festival at the Sydney locale on December 14, 2025. The shooting, deemed a “terrorist incident” by Albanese, was Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly 30 years. Citizen calls for legal reform continued after news broke that the shooters legally obtained their firearms, despite Australian security services having flagged one of the shooters in 2019.

The Bondi Beach shooting highlighted gaps in Australia’s gun regulation scheme. The legislature had passed strict firearm control laws following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, which left 35 people dead in the island state of Tasmania. Authorities responded to the massacre with sweeping legislative reform known as the National Firearms Agreement. This legislation was often cited as successfully curbing gun violence in the nation.

While officials who supported the new reforms view them as a necessary step to control hate-motivated violence, opposing leaders have expressed concerns over the legislation’s effect on freedom of speech and religion. These are rights protected by international law, in articles 19 and 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Section 116 of the Australian Constitution.