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Victoria Police backed a proposal to limit how many firearms a gun licence holder could legally own before the Allan government rejected it, a move that prompted accusations it was putting politics ahead of community safety.
The state’s peak Jewish body has also called on the government to fully implement all recommendations from former police chief commissioner Ken Lay’s review into gun ownership laws, which was ordered following the Bondi terrorist attack on a Jewish festival last year.
The Allan government said on Monday it would implement 15 recommendations from Lay’s review into firearm laws, but not his call to cap ownership at four guns a person, with exemptions for up to 10 firearms if applicants could demonstrate “compelling need”.
NSW announced a four-gun ownership cap in December. The ACT has announced a five-gun cap, based on Western Australia’s laws implemented in 2024.
On Tuesday, Premier Jacinta Allan maintained that an ownership cap was unnecessary, in a blow to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s plans for a national gun buyback scheme.
But the Lay review reveals that Victoria Police supported an ownership cap, based on the safety benefits of removing firearms from circulation and the fact most gun owners had only a low number of firearms.
Police told the Lay review that an ownership cap would reduce the number of firearms in circulation and limit opportunities for “theft or misuse in a single incident”.
The report says Victoria Police recognised there was a risk that compliant licence holders would start buying illicit firearms to circumvent the cap. However, it said a cap would ease the pressure on the regulatory system and allow for closer scrutiny of licence holders seeking to acquire higher numbers of weapons, such as assessing their storage arrangements.
The police force suggested that Victoria adopt NSW’s model of a limit of four firearms, and backed exemptions for those who could demonstrate a genuine reason for owning more, such as farmers and competitive use.
Although it rejected Lay’s first recommendation, the Allan government accepted all other recommendations, including restricting gun ownership to Australian citizens and New Zealand citizens with permanent residency.
It will also consider updated firearms categories so higher-risk guns are appropriately categorised, introducing health assessments as part of the licensing application and renewal process, and mandatory screening for unlicensed people at shooting ranges.
Allan said on Tuesday she did not think ownership caps were necessary, and that efforts needed to be focused on preventing criminals from obtaining firearms.
“The overwhelming majority of firearm owners are responsible, and they take those responsibilities really, really seriously,” she said. “We already have in Victoria very strict and strong firearm laws. The announcements we made yesterday are about strengthening that framework even further”.
Asked about its submission on Tuesday, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said it would work with the government “on the implementation of accepted review recommendations”.
The Alannah & Madeline Foundation – named after Alannah and Madeline Mikac, who were killed alongside their mother and 32 others at the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 – welcomed the reforms but said the rejection of a gun ownership cap was a missed opportunity to protect Victorians.
“It is deeply concerning that that political considerations in an election year appear to have taken precedence over what is needed to protect public safety,” chief executive Sarah Davies said.
“We strongly urge the government to reconsider its position on caps and strengthen the requirement for licence holders to demonstrate a genuine need for each firearm.”
Allan’s electorate of Bendigo East has one of the highest proportions of licensed duck hunters in any Labor-held seat, with 543 people holding licences in 2023 – the equivalent of 1 per cent of voters.
Jewish Community Council of Victoria chief executive Naomi Levin said the recommendations from Lay’s review – which was ordered after 15 people were shot dead at a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach – needed to be implemented in full.
“We appreciate that the Victorian government moved quickly to commission and then respond to a review of Victoria’s current gun laws,” Levin said. “However, our firm view is that all measures needed to protect community safety must be implemented.
“If Ken Lay, who conducted this review, recommends a limit of four firearms for each licence holder, except in special circumstances, then we would urge the Victorian government to implement this recommendation.”
Fewer than 20 per cent of the state’s firearm users would be affected by the proposed cap, Lay’s review found. About 46,540 licence holders currently own more than four category A and B firearms.
However, a cap could result in about 286,749 firearms being disposed of in Victoria – reducing the total number by almost 30 per cent, it found.
Victorian Nationals leader Danny O’Brien said on Tuesday that an ownership cap would not have stopped the alleged Bondi shooters and there was no evidence it would make Victoria safer.
A Police Association Victoria spokesperson said the union was “largely supportive of the position adopted by the government” in response to Lay’s review.
Coroners Court data shows 459 people were killed by firearms in Victoria in the decade to 2025. Most (342) were ruled suicides and 104 were assaults. Triple Zero received more than 10,500 firearm-related calls over the same period, the report found.
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Patrick Hatch is transport reporter at The Age and a former business reporter.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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