Firearms reform

We are reforming New Zealand's firearms laws and regulations to provide for greater protection of public safety and simplify regulatory requirements to improve compliance.

Objectives

The firearms reform programme will deliver a firearms system that:

imposes controls that protect individuals and the public from firearms related harm
supports the safe possession and use of firearms and other weapons for legitimate purposes, such as sports, hunting, collecting, and pest control.

Why we are doing this

Since the Act was passed 40 years ago, it has been changed many times, including in response to events in New Zealand’s history where there were many deaths involving firearms. One tragic example of this was on 15 March 2019, when a terrorist attacked worshippers at two Christchurch mosques.

Changes to the Act were often made quickly. This meant that a thorough review of all rules in the Act was often not possible at the time. This has resulted in today’s firearms rules being complicated to understand for a range of firearms users, making it hard for some users to know what to do to comply.

To address this, the Government made a commitment in the Coalition Agreement between the National Party and the ACT Party to reform the firearms system in this Parliamentary term.

How we are delivering the work

The Coalition Agreement between the National Party and the ACT Party committed to making changes to several parts of the firearms system.

This has been broken up into four overlapping phases of work. Phases 1 and 2 are now complete, and the other phases are in different stages of development.

Phase 1: Effective enforcement (improvements to Firearms Prohibition Orders)

This was part of a first 100-days coalition commitment to give Police additional power to search gang members for firearms. This will help prevent high-risk people from legally accessing or using firearms or associating with people who have firearms. The additional powers were enabled through amendments to the Firearms Prohibition Orders system. The Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Act 2024 was passed in September 2024 and the law will came into effect in March 2025.

Phase 2: Regulating shooting clubs and shooting ranges

This addresses concerns about Part 6 of the Arms Act relating to the controls placed on shooting clubs and shooting ranges in 2020. The bill was passed by Parliament(external link) on 26 March 2025 and came into force on 29 June 2025. You can read more at:

New Zealand Parliament website: Arms (Shooting Clubs, Shooting Ranges, and Other Matters) Amendment Bill - New Zealand Parliament(external link)

New Zealand Legislation website: Arms (Shooting Clubs, Shooting Ranges, and Other Matters) Amendment Act (external link)

Guidance on the new rules for shooting clubs and ranges is available on the Firearms Safety Authority website.(external link)

Phase 3: Institutional arrangements for effective and efficient regulation

This involved a review of the Firearms Registry to determine if it is effectively improving public safety. The Review was published [PDF, 7.3 MB] in May 2025.

Phase 3 also involves the transfer of the Firearms Safety Authority, regulator of the Arms Act, to another department.

Cabinet has decided that a new firearms regulator will be established and headed by an independent chief executive appointed by the Governor-General. The Chief Executive will report to the responsible Minister, with the Ministry of Justice providing oversight and monitoring of the regulator.

While the regulator will continue to receive corporate services from the Police, there will be clearer separation of information held by the Police and the regulator. To ensure the independence of the regulator, sworn officers will not be able to serve as either the Chief Executive or be directly employed by the regulator.

Phase 4: A systematic rewrite to modernise the Arms Act 1983

This involves rewriting the Arms Act to ensure it provides for greater protection of public safety, reflects best practice, and is fit for purpose.

From 13 January to 28 February 2025, the Ministry invited public submissions to assist us with the Arms Act rewrite. The Ministry received almost 8500 submissions and with submitters making 700,000 individual submission points.

On 11 November 2025, the Associate Minister of Justice, Hon Nicole McKee, announced that Cabinet had decided to repeal and replace the Act(external link) with a new law that places public safety at its core. Some key changes include:

Requiring any person or organisation operating under the firearms regulatory regime to act in the interests of personal, community and public safety.
A new firearms regulator will be established and headed by an independent chief executive appointed by the Governor-General who will report to the responsible Minister.
Gang membership disqualifies a person from holding a firearms licence.
Regulator given power to issue infringements and temporary suspensions for low-level non-compliance by a licensed firearm owner
Codifying how Police and other agencies alert the regulator when they receive information that raises concerns about a licence holders’ “fit and proper” status.
Penalties increased to reflect the seriousness of offences.
A Firearms Licensing Review Committee to consider appeals against decisions to suspend or cancel firearms licences.
Greater flexibility for licence holders to store firearms in the most appropriate location to prevent theft and unlawful access.
Dealer’s licences renamed ‘business licences’ and their duration extended to five years for compliant holders.
Creation of museum-specific ‘curator licences.’
Fee reviews every five years and a tiered fee structure.

A full list of changes is outlined in a fact sheet [PDF, 437 KB] published by the Ministry that outlines the current provisions and the proposed changes.

The Government intends to pass the legislation in this parliamentary term.

Minister’s Arms Advisory Group

The Minister’s Arms Advisory Group (MAAG) advises the Minister on matters that contribute to achieving the objectives of the Arms Act, in particular, the safe use and control of firearms. The Ministry of Justice performs the secretariat function.

It provides advice on any matter relating to firearms in New Zealand, including:

legislative proposals

policies for controlling New Zealand’s firearms system

the promotion of firearms safety.

MAAG is made up of a balance of members from both firearm-owning and the non-firearm-owning communities. This includes people who are concerned about the mitigation of harm from firearms from a health perspective.

You can find out more about MAAG on the NZ Police website.

Minister's Arms Advisory Group(external link) (external link)

Contact us

Please contact us if you want to know more about our firearms reform work. You can email us at firearms@justice.govt.nz

Cabinet papers and related information

This page was last updated: 11th November 2025

Firearms reform

Objectives

Why we are doing this

How we are delivering the work

Phase 1: Effective enforcement (improvements to Firearms Prohibition Orders)

Phase 2: Regulating shooting clubs and shooting ranges

Phase 3: Institutional arrangements for effective and efficient regulation

Phase 4: A systematic rewrite to modernise the Arms Act 1983

Contact us

Cabinet papers and related information

Setting out the firearms reform programme

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4

Current firearms legislation and regulations

Useful links