ARMS ACT REPLACEMENT: Today, I'm delivering on the promise I made to you.

Today, I'm delivering on the promise I made to you – the Government has agreed to repeal and replace the 40-year-old Arms Act 1983 with a law that’s fair, balanced, and built to last.

Five years ago, I put my hand up for Parliament because I was tired of seeing responsible, law-abiding New Zealanders treated as the problem.

Since then, I’ve fought to replace the broken Arms Act with new law that respects licenced firearms owners while cracking down on criminals and gangs who should not have access to firearms.

Here I've outlined some of the biggest changes. At the bottom of is a full list and link to a more detailed explainer.

Secure storage rules

Under my Arms Act, you’ll be able to store your firearms at any approved location, not just your primary residence. This is a practical, common-sense fix for students, renters, and anyone whose home isn’t suited to secure storage. It’s about ensuring firearms are stored safely, not about making life difficult for those trying to do the right thing.

Licencing changes

I've heard the concerns relating to licencing, including delays, and I'm fixing it.

First, the regulator will have the ability to suspend and educate for lower-level offences, rather than simply revoke the firearms licence.

Next, the regulator will be able to extend firearms licences for up to three years for LFOs whose renewals fall within busy renewal periods. This will reduce bottlenecks caused every decade when a large number of individuals need to get their licences at the same time, as is the case now.

Health-related suspensions will now be able to last for up to twelve months. This is a major shift from the current system where after three months your licence is revoked and you can't get one again for 10 years. This reflects the reality that sometimes it may take more than three months to get the appropriate medical proof, or introduce acceptable mitigations.

If the regulator gets a licencing decision wrong, there will be a new, independent Firearms Licencing Review Committee to hear appeals.

This replaces the current internal Police-run process with a genuinely independent panel made up of a lawyer, a representative from the firearms community, and an appointee of the regulator. The Committee will assess whether licencing decisions and conditions are fair, reasonable, and properly justified.

This reform means licence holders won’t need to bear the cost and delay of taking their case to the District Court, something many simply can’t afford. Between October 2021 and March 2025, 34% of appeals to the District Court resulted in a different outcome, showing exactly why this change is needed.

Separating the regulator from Police

To rebuild the trust of law-abiding LFOs, the firearms regulator, currently the Firearms Safety Authority, will be reformed to ensure it operates openly and transparently.

A new regulator will be established, headed by an independent Chief Executive appointed by the Governor-General. The Chief Executive will report solely to the responsible Minister, with the Ministry of Justice providing oversight and monitoring.

This separation will mean no badged Police will work for the regulator. This is about rebuilding trust and ensuring there is a clearer separation of information held by the firearms regulator and information held by the Police.

This will allow Police to focus on their role of enforcement, while improving trust and confidence in the regulator.

Protecting biodiversity and productive farmland

Practical changes to endorsements for pest controllers will ensure biodiversity and productive farmland is more easily protected from pests. Endorsements will be extended from two and a half to five years, with a mid-term check-in to confirm the licence holder's circumstances haven't changed.

This will come alongside new multi-user agreements for approved pest control and biosecurity organisations. This will allow authorised employees to share restricted firearms without a mountain of permits and registry updates every time a firearm changes hands.

Overall, this will mean less paperwork, more stability, and more time doing the critical work that they do to protect our environment and economy.

Targeting crims, not the law abiding

While we’re making things fairer for responsible owners, we’re also getting tougher where it counts.

The Bill will introduce automatic disqualification from holding a firearms licence for gang members. Less than one percent of New Zealanders belong to gangs, but they’re responsible for nearly a quarter of all firearms offending.

A number of new offences will be created, including for diversion, for the illegal printing of 3D firearms and parts and possession of digital files without a licence, and for possessing firearms where markings have been intentionally removed.

Penalties for all offences have been updated. Serious offences will increase for the first time since 1983. These updates are to reflect the risk to public safety and to disincentivise the rotten apples from committing crime.

And for minor, unintentional breaches, the regulator will now have more flexible tools to encourage compliance, including infringement notices and temporary suspensions. That means a more proportionate response that’s firm where needed and fair where possible.

This will be tied together with a new overarching purpose of the Arms Act, which will state that anyone doing anything involving firearms must act in the interests of personal and public safety, not just licenced firearm owners. This will now include obligations on the regulator, Police, and the wider community.

Where ACT continues to stand alone

I won’t pretend I got everything I wanted. Coalition government means compromise. But I can tell you honestly that around 95% of what I fought for is in this Bill.

The firearms registry:

ACT has invoked the agree-to-disagree provision in our coalition agreement because we remain opposed to the registry. It will stay due to our coalition partners, but I’ve ensured strict legal limits on what information can be recorded and how it can be used. You told me you don’t want irrelevant or unnecessary data collected, and I listened.

Restricted (formerly prohibited) firearms:

We changed the language from “prohibited” to “restricted” to reflect the reality that these firearms were never truly banned – only limited to certain purposes.

I also proposed a narrow sports-shooting exemption to allow long-term, certified club members to continue competing with restricted firearms under strict conditions. I’m confident this could have been done safely, but National rejected the proposal.

Once again, it shows why only ACT can be trusted to stand up for licenced firearm owners (LFOs) and for laws that genuinely improve public safety.

If needed I will continue to agree to disagree with our coalition partners on key firearms issues.

What's next?

But despite differences on some issues, we’ve achieved real change. Relief for shooting clubs and ranges, stronger powers against gangs, and now, a complete rewrite of the Arms Act that respects you and your role in our country.

The Bill will have its first reading and be referred to Select Committee before the end of the year. Unlike those changes rushed through under the previous government I’m committed to getting this right. That means we’ll have full six month select committee process where you’ll be able to have your say, and the opportunity to iron out any wrinkles I missed the first time around.

It’s essential that you’re engaged in this process. Those who want to ban firearms will be. Submissions are likely to open over summer, even a short message of support makes a difference.

ACT respects the vital role of licenced firearms owners, hunters, and shooting sports enthusiasts in New Zealand’s culture, economy, and conservation efforts. Hunting and shooting are legitimate pastimes, essential pest-control tools, and part of our rural way of life – and we’ll always back you.

I am humbled by your unwavering support on this journey so far. We’re not there yet but without your backing, none of this would have been possible. Thank you.

A more detailed summary of all the changes, and how they compare to the status quo, can be found here.

Summary of changes:

Improvements for Licenced Firearms Owners:

• Creating an independent Firearms Licencing Review Committee including representative of the firearms community to hear appeals on licencing decisions.

• Allowing the regulator to issue firearms licence extensions for up to three years to improve processing times.

• Create an urgent licence renewal process, similar to passports, for international travel.

• Allow overseas shooters to obtain multi-entry licences to allow them to enter New Zealand multiple times within a 12-month period.

• Allow firearms to be stored at any location approved by the regulator, not just your primary residence.

• Clarify product definitions and exempt low-risk items.

• Require permits to possess to be obtained before starting to manufacture arms items.

• Firearms or parts made for personal use may only be sold through licenced businesses.

• Require the regulator to consult directly with the firearms community and enable them to publish guidance on their website.

• Review fees every five years and creating a tiered fee structure that allows services that provide greater public benefit to recover a smaller portion of costs.

• Remove the ability for the regulator to record information in the registry beyond what is explicitly required by regulations.

Improvements for specialist users and activities:

• Endorsements issued to pest controllers will be extended to five years with a mid-term check in to confirm that their circumstances haven’t changed.

• Allow specified employees of biosecurity and pest control organisations to share prohibited firearms without triggering permit-to-possess or registry updates for each short-term transfer.

• Allow greater flexibility for collectors’ storage of vital parts for prohibited firearms.

• Rename the ‘dealer’s licence’ to ‘business licence’.

• Clarify when a person is “in business” to reduce unnecessary licence applications and provide clarity.

• Remove the need for a permit to possess for repairs, conversions, or deactivations by gunsmiths.

• Extend import permit duration for business licence holders to 12 months.

• Extend business licence durations to five years for those with a record of good compliance.

• Remove the requirement for employee endorsements on their personal licences so long as the business licence holder has the endorsement.

• Create museum-specific ‘curator licences’ allowing the public display of arms without disproportionate requirements that are difficult and costly to meet.

• Create museum worker licences for employees who do not wish to own firearms, removing the need for staff to have secure storage at home.

• Clarify manufacturing definitions and exclude replacing parts with a like-for-like part from the definition of manufacturing.

Changes to the regulator:

• Require regulator approval for commercial ammunition sellers.

• Establish a new firearm regulatory agency led by an independent chief executive.

• Create a formalised ‘red flag’ system so other agencies can alert the regulator of information that raises concerns about a person’s ‘fit and proper’ status.

• Clarify information sharing powers between the regulator and the police.

Public safety:

• The purpose of the legislation will be expanded to include all actors in the system, not just LFOs.

• Gang members are automatically disqualified from holding a firearms licence.

• Infringement notices and temporary suspensions will be enabled for low-level non-compliance, rather than revocation.

• Health-related licence suspensions can be in place for up to 12 months, because three months is often not enough time to obtain medical reports or implement mitigations.

• Blank-firing guns that are able to be converted into functional firearms will be regulated, although those that already hold them without a licence may keep them.

• High-capacity magazines will be restricted to endorsed licence holders.

• Business licence holders will be required to notify police of all surrendered arms items.

• Creating a pathway to lawful ownership for currently prohibited firearms through conversion or deactivation for those affected by the 2019-2020 law changes.

• New offences created to future-proof the law and prevent diversion to criminals.

• Blueprints for 3D printed firearms can only be held by LFOs.

• Updating penalties, especially for those committed by people who do not hold a firearms licence.