This is not the time to panic! What are your obligations?

Bottom line: nothing is compulsory right now, and no hand-in deadline has been set.

What's actually in force today (19 Aug 2026)

  • Acquisition caps — since 24 Dec 2025, PTAs are refused above 4 firearms (recreational hunting/vermin) or 10 (primary production, rural occupational, animal welfare, sport/target, business/employment, pest control). Dealers and collectors are exempt. Highest applicable limit applies if you hold multiple genres.
  • These caps currently bite on acquiring, not on holding. NSW Police state plainly: "There is no immediate seizure of firearms for those currently above the new limits. Further information will be provided regarding compliance and the buyback scheme before the new limits take effect." That last clause is the tell — the possession limits have not commenced.
  • From 1 Jul 2026, licences max out at 2 years; existing licences run to their original expiry.

The buyback

  • Phase 1 opens Monday 2 November 2026, administered by NSW Police, 50/50 state/federal funded. Fixed rates: revolver and centrefire rifle $1,000; semi-auto handgun and double-barrel shotgun $850; single-barrel shotgun $650; rimfire $600; air rifle $450.
  • Phase 2, early 2027, for firearms with indicative value above $3,000, capped at $10,000 each.
  • Roughly 274,000 registered firearms — about a quarter of the NSW register — are in scope.
  • It is opt-in. Government messaging is "we want those guns handed in," not "you must." No end date for Phase 1 has been published, and no penalty regime for declining has been announced.

Where it gets genuinely uncertain

The compulsion mechanism hasn't been built yet. The supporting regulations are still being drafted, and the government has repeatedly said eligibility, compensation arrangements and participation details are coming "in due course." The reasonable read of the WA precedent is that a compliance date will eventually be attached to the caps — but it hasn't been announced, and anyone telling your customers there's a clock running is guessing.

The one area to treat differently is reclassification. Straight-pull, pump-action and button/lever-release rifles moved B → C under the 2025 Act. That's a licence-category question, not a numbers question, and it's the one that could leave someone holding a firearm they're not authorised for. Worth having affected customers check their registration record and licence genres directly with the Firearms Registry rather than assuming they're grandfathered.

Practical line for the counter: no obligation to do anything before 2 November; nobody has to hand in a registered firearm today; anyone considering Phase 2 for a high-value item should hold rather than take a Phase 1 fixed rate on a $1,900 gun paying $850.

Not legal advice — for a specific customer's holdings, the Firearms Registry or a firearms solicitor is the right call.

Sources: NSW Government – National Gun Buyback Scheme · NSW Government – NSW first to get national gun buyback underway · NSW Police – Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025 · NSW Government – Next phase of firearms reforms take effect · ABC News – Buyback scheme detail · ABC News – Farmers, shooters and gun shops react · New England Times · Sporting Shooter · SIFA

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