Cabinet to consider national gun register options

Tess Ikonomou | June 9, 2023

Models for a national firearms register to help police tackle gun violence have been given to federal prime minister and state and territory leaders.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus chaired a meeting in Brisbane on Friday where the state and territory police ministers agreed to put forward options for a register to national cabinet. 

The options have not been publicly released, but the consultation process noted the register should seek to operate in near real-time, provide details of licence holders and a single firearm record and include notification of cross-jurisdictional movement of guns.

The decision follows the murders of Queensland police officers Constable Matthew Arnold and Constable Rachel McCrow, who were killed on a regional property by a trio of conspiracy theorists in December last year.

Mr Dreyfus said the public safety initiative would “ensure police across all jurisdictions have timely and accurate information on firearms risks”.

“The Australian government will continue to work closely with states and territories to support joint approaches to addressing policing and criminal justice challenges in Australian communities,” he said.

The Australian Federal Police Association has called for a national gun database since 2019.

National cabinet is due to meet mid-year.