The Reports Are In.
Here Is What We Are Doing About It.
Two major parliamentary and government reports have now been published. Both contain significant acknowledgements of our community's position. SSAA ACT has written formally to the Minister for Police, the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. This update tells you what was found, what it means, and what we are doing next.
The Two Reports That Matter
Two significant documents have been published in May 2026. Together they form the most important evidentiary record on ACT firearms reform since the Bondi attack.
Finding 1: "The Committee finds there is significant uncertainty over the operation of the proposed numerical caps."
"There is no clear evidence that numerical caps on individual ownership, by themselves, reduce firearms-related harm."
These are not our words. They are the formal findings of a parliamentary committee and a former Chief Commissioner of Police, commissioned by a Labor government. Two separate, independent, government-commissioned processes. The same conclusion. This is now on the public record and cannot be dismissed.
What the ACT Committee Found
The ACT Standing Committee on Legal Affairs conducted a full inquiry into the Firearms (Public Safety) Amendment Bill 2026 and the Firearms (Firearm Prohibition Orders) Amendment Bill 2026. It received 88 submissions, held a public hearing and published Report 9 in May 2026. The committee recommended the Assembly pass both bills — but its report contains important acknowledgements and obligations that our community can hold the Government to.
- ✓Finding 1 — Significant uncertainty over capsThe committee acknowledged the link between the specific caps and reduced harm is not definitive. The caps were driven by National Cabinet politics, not ACT-specific evidence.
- ✓Recommendation 1 — Statutory exemption criteria requiredThe Government must legislate clear criteria for Registrar exemption decisions — applicants cannot be left to guess the threshold.
- ✓Recommendation 4 — Ongoing consultation requiredThe Government must continue to consult all relevant stakeholders on implementation to minimise unintended consequences. The committee was clear that the inquiry process was not a substitute for genuine community engagement.
- ✓Recommendation 7 (Priority) — Storage and complianceStronger storage, compliance and pre-approval requirements should be introduced as a priority — consistent with what our community argued throughout.
- ✓Recommendations 8 & 9 — Buyback must be fairThe full cost must be tabled in the Assembly. Accessories and ammunition must be included. Compensation must reflect pre-December 2025 market value.
- ✓Recommendation 5 — Biathlon must be protectedFurther work is required to enable biathletes to participate in their sport in the ACT — an unintended consequence of the recategorisation the Government admitted it had not considered.
What Victoria Found — and Decided
The Victorian Government commissioned the most extensive post-Bondi firearms review conducted in any Australian jurisdiction — 19,026 survey responses, 500+ written submissions, 40 face-to-face consultations. It accepted 15 of 16 recommendations. The one it rejected was the most significant for our community.
"The Victorian Government will not be introducing a cap on firearms ownership."
Victoria is the largest firearms jurisdiction in Australia by registered firearms. Its decision — based on the Lay Review's finding of no clear evidence — has reversed the national consistency argument used to justify the ACT's caps.
No caps: Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania — five of eight jurisdictions.
Caps legislated: New South Wales, ACT, Western Australia — three of eight jurisdictions.
The ACT is now the outlier, not the norm. The national consistency argument has been reversed.
What SSAA ACT Is Doing About It
SSAA ACT has responded formally to both reports by writing to the key decision-makers in the ACT Government and Assembly. Here is what we have done and what we are asking for.
Dr Marisa Paterson MLA — Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services
We have written to the Minister directly, noting that the national consistency justification for caps no longer holds given five jurisdictions — including Victoria — have independently declined to implement them. We have called on the Minister to reconsider the cap provisions, correct the belt-fed technical errors, amend the digital blueprint offence to include legitimate use exceptions, ensure the buyback is voluntary at full market value, and commit to a five-year evidence review.
Mr Andrew Barr MLA — Chief Minister
We have written to the Chief Minister along the same lines, emphasising that the ACT's legislation is now inconsistent with the majority of Australian jurisdictions and that the evidence base the ACT Committee itself found uncertain has been further undermined by the Victorian Government's decision. We have called for the same reconsiderations and for genuine community consultation on implementation.
Mr Mark Parton MLA — Leader of the Opposition
We have written to Mr Parton noting Victoria's rejection of caps and asking him to advocate in the Assembly for: reconsideration of the numerical caps or adoption of a graduated need model; correction of the belt-fed technical errors; amendment of the digital blueprint offence; a voluntary buyback at market value; and a five-year evidence review. We have drawn on his own stated position that the ACT's legislation should be "befitting of the ACT."
What We Are Asking For
Across all three letters, SSAA ACT has called for the same core positions. These are grounded in the ACT Committee's own recommendations and in the Victorian Government's approach.
- ✓Caps reconsidered or graduatedIf caps are retained, adopt Victoria's graduated model of genuine, compelling and exceptional need — not a blunt numerical limit unsupported by evidence.
- ✓Belt-fed provisions corrected"Belt-fed magazine shotguns" do not exist. "Belt-fed machine guns" have never been available to civilians. These technical errors imported from NSW legislation must be corrected before the Bill passes.
- ✓Digital blueprint offence amendedSection 228A must include legitimate use exceptions — for academic, educational, industrial, scientific and heritage purposes — comparable to Victoria's model.
- ✓Buyback voluntary at market valueCompensation must reflect pre-December 2025 market value and must include accessories and ammunition. Any licence holder wishing to voluntarily surrender additional firearms should also receive fair compensation.
- ✓Five-year evidence review committed toThe Government must commit to a formal review of cap effectiveness within five years, with the evidence reported to the Assembly — consistent with the Lay Review's recommendation.
- ✓Genuine consultation on implementationThe ACT Committee made clear the inquiry process was not a substitute for executive consultation. The Government must engage meaningfully with our community on implementation detail.
The parliamentary record now contains formal acknowledgements of our community's position — on evidence, on consultation, on buyback fairness and on the limits of the national consistency argument. We have written those acknowledgements into formal correspondence to the Government and the Opposition. We will continue to engage at every step of implementation to ensure the commitments on the record are honoured. Our community deserves nothing less.
Sporting Shooters Association of Australia ACT Inc
info@ssaaact.org.au