New South Wales is scheduled to open Phase 1 on 2 November 2026, when NSW Police will begin administering the buyback for firearms caught by the state’s new limits and reclassifications. [E1] On 16 August, that timetable left the scheme with a price list but no surrender count because its first operating day was still ahead. [E1] The state estimates up to 274,000 registered firearms, about 24% of its registered stock, and roughly 50,000 licence holders could be affected by the ownership limits and reclassifications. [E1] Those figures describe forecast scope, not guns already surrendered or owners already paid. [E1]
The Commonwealth has supplied the national framework and funding support, while NSW was the first participating jurisdiction and the only one attached to the announced operating timetable on 16 August. [E1][E3] NSW Police will administer the state scheme through the Firearms Registry and Gun Safe Portal, with nominated return locations expected largely at police stations. [E1][E3] The two governments will split buyback costs 50:50; the Commonwealth will also meet half the administration cost and fully fund destruction. [E1][E3] The national machinery therefore begins with one state handling the guns, owners and counters. [E1][E3]
Eligibility includes licensed owners above their applicable new ownership limit, as well as firearms prohibited or reclassified by the reforms [E2]. Affected licensed owners face a statutory compliance requirement, with compensation for eligible firearms [E1][E2]. Further eligibility and compensation details were still due before November [E2].
Phase 1 uses a fixed schedule: A$1,000 for a revolver, A$850 for a double-barrel shotgun and A$600 for a rimfire rifle. [E1][E2] A centrefire rifle is also priced at A$1,000, while an air rifle is A$450. [E1][E2] That schedule gives police and owners a stated unit price for fixed-price eligible stock before the first firearm reaches a return point. [E1][E2] Dealers and eligible businesses get a separate support package from 2 November, including grants up to A$25,000 and one-off licence-fee relief worth A$500 over two years per dealer. [E1][E2]
Phase 2, scheduled for early 2027, creates a valuation pathway for eligible firearms with an indicative market value above A$3,000. [E1][E2] That route carries a fee and caps compensation at A$10,000 per firearm, leaving higher-value items for a later process. [E1][E2] Unlicensed firearms sit outside the compensated licensed-owner pathway; NSW directs them to the separate existing police amnesty. [E2] The two routes solve different disposal problems even when both ultimately put a firearm into police hands. [E2]
Registered owners carry the immediate compliance load because existing holdings can now exceed the new caps or fall into a reclassified category. [E1][E2] Officials expect most lawful owners to comply, but the press conference left some police operations undescribed and the state page left further eligibility detail pending. [E2][E3] Interstate participation is unresolved as well: the Commonwealth offer remains available to every state and territory, while NSW remained the first mover on 16 August. [E3] Final cost is also open, with NSW describing the bill as demand-driven and in the hundreds of millions of dollars without an exact figure. [E3]
The policy becomes measurable once firearms start moving across police counters. [E1][E3] Actual surrender counts after 2 November will test the forecast of up to 274,000 affected firearms, while additional state or territory agreements will test whether the Commonwealth framework acquires wider operation. [E1][E3] Until then, the stock estimate, compensation schedule and funding split describe capacity built for a flow that has not started. [E1][E3] For now, Australia has put a national sign above a NSW-only intake desk. [E1][E3]