A Sydney gun owner reportedly holding 371 firearms has become one of the most striking examples of the huge private firearm collections set to be affected by sweeping changes to gun laws in New South Wales.
The extraordinary figure comes as the NSW and federal governments move ahead with a major firearms buyback and surrender scheme that could eventually affect around 274,000 registered guns across the state.
The program is expected to begin on November 2 and will be accompanied by tighter limits on how many firearms an individual licence holder can possess.
For most ordinary firearm owners, the new limit will be four guns. Farmers and professional shooters may be permitted to own up to 10 under exemptions.
The reforms mean some of the biggest legally registered private gun collections in Sydney could soon be dramatically reduced.
ONE OWNER REPORTEDLY HAS 371 FIREARMS
Among the collections attracting attention is one Sydney owner reportedly registered with 371 firearms.
That number alone has become a major talking point.
Australia already has strict licensing, registration and firearm storage requirements compared with many other countries, but there has traditionally been no universal four-gun limit applying to every ordinary NSW firearm owner.
That allowed some licensed collectors, recreational shooters and other approved owners to legally accumulate very large numbers of registered firearms.
The new legislation changes that dramatically.
Once the ownership limits take effect, individuals with collections far above the new cap could be required to surrender or dispose of large numbers of firearms unless they qualify for an exemption.
UP TO 274,000 FIREARMS COULD BE AFFECTED
The scale of the NSW program goes well beyond a handful of unusually large collections.
Government estimates suggest as many as 274,000 registered firearms could be affected by the reforms.
That represents roughly one-quarter of the registered firearm stock in NSW.
Around 50,000 licence holders could potentially be affected, although the exact number of firearms ultimately surrendered will depend on individual circumstances, exemptions and the types of weapons involved.
The buyback is expected to operate in stages.
Initial compensation will apply to firearms affected by the new ownership restrictions and weapons subject to tighter classifications.
A later stage planned for 2027 is expected to deal with higher-value firearms, with compensation reaching as much as $10,000 for some eligible weapons.
WHY IS NSW CHANGING THE LAW?
The reforms were developed following renewed scrutiny of Australia’s firearm laws and recommendations for tougher national standards.
NSW Premier Chris Minns and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have argued that reducing the number of firearms held in private hands will improve public safety and strengthen Australia’s gun-control framework.
Supporters of the reforms argue that firearm laws should not only examine whether someone is licensed to own a weapon, but also whether there should be a reasonable limit on the number of guns a single person can accumulate.
A collection numbering in the hundreds is likely to strengthen that argument among supporters of the legislation.
But firearm owners and political opponents have raised a different concern.
They argue that licensed owners have already undergone background checks, registration requirements and strict storage rules, and that forcing compliant owners to surrender legally purchased firearms risks targeting people who have never committed an offence.
LEGAL GUN OWNERS PUSH BACK
Opposition to the buyback has already emerged from shooting groups and some political parties.
Critics say governments should concentrate primarily on illegal firearms, organised crime and weapons circulating on the black market rather than imposing broad restrictions on licensed owners.
That disagreement is likely to become one of the central debates surrounding the scheme.
There is an important distinction between illegal firearm trafficking and large collections held legally under existing licensing laws.
The owners affected by the new numerical limits may not have broken any law by acquiring their firearms.
Instead, the government is changing the rules governing how many firearms they may continue to possess.
Supporters respond that gun laws have always evolved when governments determine stronger restrictions are required for public safety.
THE FOUR-GUN LIMIT CHANGES EVERYTHING
The most significant part of the reforms for many owners may ultimately be the numerical cap itself.
For most licence holders, ownership will generally be restricted to four firearms.
Farmers and professional shooters will be able to apply different limits, with eligible owners permitted as many as 10.
That means a person currently possessing dozens or even hundreds of registered firearms could potentially have to surrender the overwhelming majority of their collection.
For somebody possessing 371 firearms, reducing a collection to four would represent an enormous change.
It also raises questions about how some private collections became so large in the first place and whether numerical limits should have existed earlier.
At the same time, firearm owners are asking whether an arbitrary number accurately measures risk.
Someone owning 20 securely stored and registered firearms may argue they present less danger than someone illegally possessing a single unregistered weapon.
That tension sits at the centre of the debate.
AUSTRALIA HAS DONE THIS BEFORE
Australia has a long history of firearm buybacks.
The most famous followed the 1996 Port Arthur massacre and resulted in hundreds of thousands of prohibited firearms being surrendered.
Another national handgun buyback followed several years later.
More recently, Western Australia conducted its own firearms buyback as part of major changes to state gun laws.
The NSW program will therefore not be unprecedented, but its potential scale makes it one of the most significant firearm surrender programs Australia has seen in decades.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
The NSW scheme is scheduled to begin on November 2, with affected owners expected to receive compensation for eligible firearms surrendered under the program.
More expensive firearms will be dealt with in a later phase, while further details surrounding compensation and industry assistance are expected as implementation progresses.
The government will now face the enormous logistical task of processing potentially hundreds of thousands of firearms while ensuring owners understand which weapons must be surrendered and which exemptions may apply.
But politically, the debate is already underway.
To supporters of the reforms, the revelation that individual owners can legally possess hundreds of firearms demonstrates exactly why ownership limits are necessary.
To opponents, those same collections demonstrate that Australia’s licensing system was already capable of identifying and monitoring legally owned firearms — and that compliant owners should not automatically be treated as a public-safety threat simply because they own many guns.
Either way, the figure at the centre of the story is difficult to ignore.
One owner. 371 firearms.
Should there be a legal limit on how many guns one person can own in NSW?