Too Many Guns shows the extent of gun ownership across NSW
Private firearms ownership data was originally obtained through a series of Government Information Public Access applications to NSW Police by then NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge up to 2017.
Since then public pressure, and a clearer understanding of the law, has meant the NSW Police now routinely publish these statistics here.
This website shows the overall number of guns and gun owners in NSW overall, and by postcode, as of December 2022, 2023 and 2024. It lets you see local detail and overall trends in gun numbers.
As of December 2024 there were 1,015,186 registered firearms (NOT including individuals, collectors and dealers) in NSW. Including dealers and collectors there are 1,125,484 guns. There are 43 postcodes with over 2,000 guns (excluding guns held by dealers and collectors) and 11 postcodes with over 5,000 firearms.
The data also demonstrates the size of the largest 100 private arsenals owned by any one person in NSW as at December 2024. This specifically excluded guns owned by firearm dealers and collectors. Remarkably this shows over 100 people with between 89 and 386 firearms each.
Loophole allows Private Arsenals
However there is a serious loophole in Australia’s firearms laws that is being exploited by some gun owners so that they can accumulate dozens and dozens, and in some cases hundreds, of guns. Gun owners can endlessly recycle the same “good reason” to get their first gun and then their second gun, their tenth gun and their 300th gun.
This lack of rigour in the law has allowed 100 citizens in NSW to have more than 89 guns each. There are dozens of people in ordinary suburbs and towns who quite literally own private arsenals. The community expects that our firearm laws will put reasonable limits on the number of guns people can own to prevent the build-up of private arsenals in the community.
The top 5 owners of guns by postcode – excluding collectors and dealers respectively have 386 guns, 300 guns, 298 guns, 254 guns and 222 guns. No sensible firearm laws would allow massive private arsenals to be amassed like this.
The NSW permit to acquire a firearm requires a person seeking to acquire a gun to state that they have a genuine reason for obtaining the weapon.
The main reasons people give for obtaining a firearms licence are that they are a member of a shooting club or the owner of a rural property. Some also rely on their membership of a hunting club.
As at August 2025 good work is being done in WA to remove this loophole and put limits on the number of guns people can own, we will update as that law develops.
Reform needed to stop the accumulation of private arsenals
The Greens accept that there are people in the community who have a genuine reason to own a gun. Farmers on rural properties often require firearms for euthanizing injured stock or controlling wild invasive animals. Target shooting at a registered gun club is also a long-recognised and legitimate sport. Members of a shooting club, Olympic and other competitive shooters, and farmers may reasonably be able to establish a need for a number of guns to address their different needs. However it is impossible to see how any one citizen can establish a “genuine” or “good reason” to have dozens, or even hundreds of guns.
In the interests of community safety it is time this loophole in the firearms laws was closed so that once any gun owner owns at least 5 guns that they have to establish a separate and extraordinary reason for owning each additional gun.
Properly administered this reform would significantly reduce the number of firearms in our community and end the disturbing trend towards people collecting their own private arsenals.