(VIC) Prohibit the Possession of Digital Blueprints for 3D-Printed Firearms

Felicity Mulhall, Connor Maloney, Nicole Brideson, Maea Applegarth, Ola Wallis, Noussayba Skendri, Amisha Singh, Ruby Anderson, Alan Gruner
Jan 13
8 min read

Author: Felicity Mulhall, Connor Maloney, Nicole Brideson, Maea Applegarth, Ola Wallis, Noussayba Skendri, Amisha Singh, Ruby Anderson, Alan Gruner & Benjamin Kelly | Publish date: 13/1/2026

Trigger Warning: Weapons & Violence

P: In VIC, possession of digital blueprints for 3D-printed firearms is not prohibited.
S: The VIC Minister for Police and Community Safety should amend section 59A of the Firearms Act 1996 (VIC) to include the 'possession of digital blueprints for the manufacture of firearms using 3D printers' as an offence.

Problem Identification:

According to section 59A of the Firearms Act 1996 (VIC) (the Act), a ‘person must not manufacture a category A or B longarm or paintball marker’. However, the possession of digital files, schematics, or 3D-printed blueprints used to manufacture such firearms is not prohibited under the Act.

Thus, it is known that 3D-printed firearm (3DPF) blueprints can be freely stored, shared and downloaded online in VIC. According to Sarah Davies, CEO of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, allowing individuals to legally possess the plans needed to manufacture untraceable firearms puts community safety at greater risk. She stated, ‘these privately made firearms can be manufactured cheaply, distributed quickly, and discarded without a trace.’ Andrew Hemming, a criminal law expert at the University of Southern Queensland, has warned that ‘the united action Australians took to tighten gun laws after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre…is now coming undone.’

Context:

A 3D ‘digital blueprint’ refers to ‘any type of digital, electronic or photographic reproduction… that can be applied to manufacture an object.’

The ABC reported that ‘an entire firearm can be made using 3D-printed technology and blueprints that can be found online, almost like a dress pattern’, helping explain the growing use of 3DPFs among those seeking to evade regulation. Everytown, an American organisation advocating for gun safety, stated ‘with a basic 3D printer and easily attainable digital blueprints, anyone, from kids to violent criminals, can build an untraceable firearm.’ The Combating Terrorism Centre (CTC) cautioned that the ‘rapid proliferation in… 3D-printed firearms… present[s] significant new challenges for law enforcement’.

John Watson, NSW police commander of the drug and firearms squad, noted that gun laws in Australia were introduced before the widespread adoption of 3D printing, when ‘3D-printed firearms were more looked at as being novice or a niche’. He further stated that recent years have seen the rapid development of 3DPFs.

In parallel, the CTC has identified a significant increase in access to 3DPF blueprints, with ‘more than 2,100 different… plans readily available online.’ Against this backdrop, there has been a reported rise in the prevalence of 3DPFs, prompting Police to warn that homemade guns ‘will likely become the most prevalent source of firearms in Australia.’

Arguments:

3DPFs and firearm parts have been flagged by the Australian Institute as a ‘significant growing threat to public safety’. Rueben Dass, at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, highlighted that access to manufacture 3DPFs is continually expanding, with ‘the proliferation of information and guides online…lowering the entry barrier and capability threshold for individuals to manufacture these firearms.’ This trend was further illustrated by recent law enforcement activity, where NSW Police reported a raid on a firearm-manufacturing operation that resulted in the seizure of a hard drive containing approximately 500 digital firearm blueprints and more than 100 3D-printed firearm parts. In October 2025, Tasmania Police seized 281 3DPFs and parts, and reported a 16% increase in gun seizures and surrenders, driven largely by homemade and 3D-printed weapons. Hemming warned that ‘“the reality is … if anybody can make one, the sands have shifted, and it’s only a question of time.”’ A study published by the American Public Health Association identified an elevated risk of serious harm to public safety when they found a ‘robust correlation between higher levels of gun ownership and higher firearm homicide rates.’

The Australian Gun Safety Alliance (AGSA) has argued that there is ‘overwhelming evidence that Australians want stronger gun laws.’ According to the Australia Institute, approximately 64% of Australians believe that gun laws must be strengthened. On 15 December, the ABC reported that the National Cabinet ‘unanimously agreed’ to strengthen gun laws after the Bondi terror attack.

Advice/Solution Identification:

AGSA has called to prohibit the possession of digital blueprints for 3D-printed firearms. They emphasised that VIC ‘must act decisively to prevent access to digital files that could lead to these illegal firearms getting in the wrong hands.’

Precedent:

Domestically, NSW and SA criminalised the possession of blueprints for 3D-printed firearms in 2015, while TAS criminalised possession of blueprints or digital data in 2023. Internationally, Singapore has increased fines to $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for entities, and Canada has criminalised the possession, distribution, or access to ‘computer data’ that facilitates the manufacture of firearms through 3D printing.

Public Support:

News Coverage:

ABC News - “3D-printed guns, internet-ordered drugs on the list for Crime Stoppers in Tasmania”. The article reported that Tasmania Police recorded a sharp increase in seized and surrendered firearms, driven largely by homemade and 3D-printed guns that are difficult to detect and highly dangerous. Authorities also raised concerns about growing volumes of drugs ordered online and trafficked through ports and mail centres, urging the public to report suspicious activity to Crime Stoppers. By: Lachlan Ford | 12 Sept 2025 - Read the article here.
Jameson Law - “3D-Printed Firearms and Criminal Law in NSW: Legal Risks and Penalties”. A major police operation in June 2025 exposed a clandestine 3D-printed firearms factory in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales. The raid, conducted by specialist officers from the NSW Police Force, uncovered more than 100 firearm components, including receivers, magazines, and triggers, many manufactured using consumer-grade 3D printers. By: Cooper Hayes | 1 July 2025 - Read the article here.
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) - “Illicit firearms”. Issued a media statement warning that privately manufactured firearms, including 3D-printed hybrids, pose a significant risk. The agency undertook a ‘threat assessment’ of illicit firearms, including 3D-printed hybrids. By: Dr Katie Willis | 14 Feb 2025 - Read the statement here.
ABC News - “Alarming increase in 3D-printed 'ghost guns' has authorities on alert”. The article reported that Australian authorities were increasingly concerned about the rapid rise of untraceable 3D-printed ‘ghost guns,’ which were cheap to make, difficult to trace, and already linked to serious crimes. Police warned these weapons could soon overtake illegal firearm imports, prompting calls for stronger and more consistent regulation. By: Liz Gwynn | 23 Jan 2025 - Read the article here.
ABC News - “3D-printed guns on rise in Australia, with seizures of lethal firearms up across nation”. The article reported that seizures of highly lethal 3D-printed firearms rose across every Australian state and territory, with weapons such as the FGC-9 increasingly linked to organised crime, extremists and at-home manufacture. Police and federal agencies warned that the technology had moved beyond novelty, prompting coordinated national and international efforts to prevent widespread harm. By: Alysia Thomas-Sam and Mike Lorigan | 4 Nov 2024 - Read the article here.

Where to go to learn more:

The Australia Institute (2025) - Gun control in Australia: An update on firearms data and policies - In this 2025 report, the Australia Institute highlighted that while existing firearms laws regulate the unlicensed manufacture of firearms, they do not consistently address the possession or distribution of digital design files for 3D-printed guns. The report emphasised legislative gaps between states and the challenges this poses for uniform regulation and public safety. Read the report here.
Australian Gun Safety Alliance (2025) -The Alliance’s convenor, Stephen Bendle, stated that one way to disrupt the 3D printing of guns is to prohibit possession of digital blueprints, highlighting advocacy-based policy responses to emerging firearm technologies. Read the response here.
The Conversation (2025) - Andrew Hemming, a criminal law expert at the University of Southern Queensland, explained that advances in 3D-printing technology are enabling the manufacture of untraceable “ghost guns” in Australia, exposing significant gaps and inconsistencies in state firearms laws. He argued that nationally uniform regulation of both 3D-printed firearms and their digital blueprints is required to address the growing public safety risk. Read the article here.
The Conversation (2022) - David Bright and Monique Mann examined early policy responses to 3D-printed firearms, noting that although Australian states shared uniform firearms restrictions, laws governing digital gun design files differed, with New South Wales the only jurisdiction to criminalise possession of such files at the time. Read the article here.
QUT Crime, Justice and Social Democracy Research Centre (2023) - In a briefing paper, Angela Daly and Monique Mann found that while many existing offences covered the unlicensed manufacture and possession of firearms, they did not consistently extend to the possession or distribution of digital design files for 3D-printed weapons. Read the article here.
European Parliamentary Research Service briefing (2025) - An international briefing outlined the global emergence of 3D-printed firearms and digital blueprints, identifying comparative legal responses, including blueprint regulation in some jurisdictions. Read the report here.

Human Perspective:

Mark is a suburban father of 2 who coaches junior footy on weekends and assumes Australia’s gun laws keep dangerous weapons off the streets. One afternoon, police locked down his children’s school after discovering a student had accessed online blueprints and used a home 3D printer to assemble a firearm from plastic parts. No one is hurt, but Mark spends hours not knowing whether his children are safe, and learns that possessing the digital plans used to make the gun was legal. He is left shaken and angry that something as dangerous as a gun blueprint could be freely stored, shared, and downloaded online, and wonders why the law treats digital instructions for lethal weapons as harmless information rather than a real and preventable risk.

To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.

Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement:

Support

If your organisation would like to add your support to this paper or suggest amendments, please email Info@foreaustralia.com.

Reference list:

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Australian Gun Safety Alliance. (n.d.). Response to ABC 7.30 report: Spotlight on the rising threat of 3D-printed and privately made firearms. https://www.gunsafetyalliance.org.au/updates/response-to-abc-730-report-spotlight-on-the-rising-threat-of-3d-printed-and-privately-made-firearms/

Australian Gun Safety Alliance. (2026). Support firearm safety. https://www.gunsafetyalliance.org.au/have-your-say/

Bennett, E. (2025, June 19). More than 100 3D-printed firearm parts uncovered in raid on homemade gun factory. 9News. https://www.9news.com.au/national/blue-mountains-crime-man-charged-after-more-than-100-3d-printed-firearm-parts-uncovered--in-alleged-clandestine-firearm-manufacturing-bolthole-in-blackheath/e911c960-202f-46e5-9723-4c0443a41289

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Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management Tasmania. (2024, June). Digital blueprints of firearms and firearm parts. https://fas.police.tas.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/64-Digital-blueprints-of-firearms-and-firearm-parts.pdf

DigWatch. (2021, January 5). Singapore criminalises unauthorised possession of blueprints for 3D-printed guns. https://dig.watch/updates/singapore-criminalises-unauthorised-possession-blueprints-3d-printed-guns

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