Arms Bill
This bill would replace New Zealand's main firearms law, which is over 40 years old. It would create a new independent organisation just for managing firearms rules, separate from the Police. It changes how licences work — including new types of licences for museum staff and visitors — sets up a committee to review licensing decisions, and increases penalties for firearms offences. It also creates a registry for firearms and new rules around selling, storing, and owning guns and ammunition.
What this affects
Tap a topic to see how this bill touches it, and the parts of the text that show it.
The bill increases penalties for firearms offences and creates new offences for harmful behaviours not currently covered by law.
increasing most existing penalties in the Act to better reflect the seriousness of firearms-related offending, and creating new offences to address harmful behaviours not currently in the Act
Possessing digital blueprint to illegally manufacture arms item
Trafficking arms items or ammunition
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
This bill is open for public submissions to the Justice Committee. Anyone can tell the committee what they think, and you don’t need to be an expert. Submissions close 15 February 2026.
Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.