(VIC) Prohibit the Storage of Non-Occupational Firearms in Metropolitan Homes

Sara Abu Asbeh, Ruby Anderson & Paloma Hawkins
15 minutes ago
8 min read

Author: Sara Abu Asbeh, Ruby Anderson & Paloma Hawkins | Publish date: 12/2/2026

TW: References to family violence.

P: In VIC, non-occupational firearms can be stored in metropolitan homes.
S: The VIC Minister for Police should amend Schedule 4 of the Firearms Act 1966 (VIC) to insert a section prohibiting the storage of non-occupational firearms in metropolitan homes and require their storage in accredited club armouries.

Problem Identification:

Schedule 4 of the Firearms Act 1966 (VIC) (The Act) outlines firearm ‘storage requirements.’ However, it does not include any restrictions on the geographic location or premises where firearms must be stored.

According to the Australian Gun Safety Alliance (AGSA), this means that non-occupational firearms can be stored in metropolitan homes. The Australia Institute revealed that ‘guns are widespread in metropolitan and suburban areas.’ Rutgers Health Gun Violence Research Centre (Rutgers Health) reported that the presence of firearms in homes ‘may escalate arguments’ and ‘increase the risk’ of intimate partner and family violence. Furthermore, Gun Control Australia (GCA) revealed that guns are more likely to be stolen from private metropolitan homes. The AGSA has ultimately emphasised that the current standards undermine the public’s desire for ‘stronger gun laws.’

Context:

A non-occupational firearm refers to a firearm primarily used for recreation, such as hunting or sport. In contrast, an occupational firearm refers to a firearm with a ‘prescribed purpose’, such as in security professions.

An armoury refers to ‘an approved secure storage facility used to safely store firearms [and] ammunition.’ According to the Act, an approved club is ‘a club approved by the Chief Commissioner under section 10(3)’. An example of an approved club is Pakenham Firearms, who provide firearm armoury services for its members.

According to the Australia Institute, ‘there are now over four million guns owned by civilians nationwide’, which is ‘25% higher than in 1996 [the Port Arthur Massacre].’ They further argued that ‘there is no evidence supporting the common perception that firearms are predominantly located in rural areas’. According to the AGSA, over 80% of firearm owners live in major cities or inner regional towns, which equates to over 2.8 million guns.

Metropolitan areas are known to have high population density and vital services such as schools and hospitals.

Arguments:

The AGSA stated that ‘firearms are lethal weapons, not household items.’ GCA argued that the number of guns in Australian households is ‘putting our community at increasing risk.’ The Alannah & Madeline Foundation echoed that ‘stockpil[ing]’ of firearms in homes ‘increas[es] the risk of unauthorised access to firearms and their potential use in harming…the greater community.’ As reported in a study published by the American Public Health Association, there is a ‘robust correlation between higher levels of gun ownership and higher firearm homicide rates.’

Rutgers Health argued that ‘guns can pose a threat of harm within the home, particularly homes with incidences of intimate partner violence’ and family violence. According to GCA, ‘a firearm does not even need to leave its place of safe storage in order to be used as a form of threat in situations involving family violence.’ American not-for-profit organisation, Futures Without Violence, reported that ‘a woman is five times more likely to be killed if her abusive partner owns a gun.’ Women’s Agenda, a gender-equality media and advocacy platform, stressed that ‘domestic violence must be brought into view when we talk about gun safety’, as ‘guns in volatile situations make violence more likely to turn deadly.’

Rod Campbell, the Australia Institute’s Research Director, stated that ‘record numbers of guns [can easily] … fall into the hands of criminals’ through theft and illicit circulation. GCA reported that between 2007 and 2017, ‘the majority of firearms were stolen from residential dwellings (around 75 per cent)’. The Australia Institute noted that the ‘theft of legal firearms is the largest contemporary source of illegal firearms.’ They further reported that at least 3,590 firearms have been stolen in VIC since 2017.

AGSA argued that there is ‘overwhelming evidence that Australians want stronger gun laws.’ According to the Australia Institute, 64% of Australians believe that gun laws should be strengthened. As reported by the ABC, the National Cabinet ‘unanimously agreed’ to strengthen gun laws after the Bondi terror attack.

Advice/Solution Identification:

AGSA has called to ‘end metropolitan home storage for non-occupational firearms’. They said that there is a need to ‘reduce the number of firearms circulating in the community.’ Furthermore, GCA has broadly called for ‘storage requirements [to] be upgraded, monitored and enforced’, and advocated for ‘stop[ping] guns being used in family violence.’

According to Women’s Agenda, ‘regulation is not about simply taking away everyone’s guns. It’s about ensuring safety and accountability.’

Precedent:

If VIC were to enact this reform, it would be world-leading to the best of the author’s knowledge.

Public Support:

Australian Gun Safety Alliance

Broad Support:

Gun Control Australia (has broadly called for storage requirements to be ‘upgraded, monitored and enforced,’ especially to prevent family violence. However, they have not specifically called to prohibit the storage of firearms in metropolitan homes)

This list reflects publicly stated positions and should not necessarily be taken as endorsement of this specific brief.

News Coverage:

ABC News - “WA gun owners accused of domestic violence to lose weapons in wake of Floreat shooting murders.” The article detailed a family violence incident in WA, involving firearms. By: Keane Bourke | Sun 2 Jun 2024 - Read the article here.
Women’s Agenda - “Why gun reform is a domestic violence prevention issue.” The article explained the correlation between domestic violence and firearms. By: Chloe Watts | Wed 27 Aug 2025 - Read the article here.
ABC News - “Seven guns stolen from outback NSW station leaving owner ‘sick in the guts.” The article detailed a man who had his firearms stolen from his home. By: Sofie Wainwright, Andrew Schmidt and Rebekah Lowe | Mon 12 Jun 2017 - Read the article here.
ABC News - “Gun control debate heats up over proposed NSW firearm cap in wake of Bondi Beach shooting.” The article outlined the high number of firearms in metropolitan areas. By: Phoebe Pin | Thu 18 Dec 2025 - Read the article here.
NewsWire - “Gun-owners will not be ‘punished’ by Bondi reforms, PM says.” The article made clear the government’s response to arguments that gun law reform unfairly targets law-abiding citizens. By: Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer | Tue 13 Jan 2026 - Read the article here.

Where to go to learn more:

(2025) Ten-Point Plan | AGSA - The plan of action outlined 10 potential gun law reforms to reduce firearm harm in response to the Bondi terrorist attack, including a proposal to prohibit the storage of non-occupational firearms in metropolitan homes. Read the plan here.
(2025) Firearm theft in Australia: Two decades of stolen guns | Australia Institute - This report by the Australia Institute explored why firearm theft is increasingly common, especially in residential dwellings. Read the report here.
(2025) Policy Platform | GCA - GCA’s Policy Platform outlines 18 calls to action to improve community safety through a public health approach to gun control, including amending firearm storage requirements to prevent family violence. Read the platform here.
(2024) From Guns to Intimate Partner Violence: The Impact of Power and Control | Rutgers Health - The 2024 research investigation found that firearms significantly exacerbate the risk and lethality of intimate partner violence, reinforcing calls for stronger gun safety measures. Read the investigation here.
(2025) Australian gun control: 29 years after Port Arthur | Australia Institute - This report by the Australia Institute explained the increase of firearms in Australia since 1996. Read the report here.
Firearms Act 1966 (VIC) - Read the full Act here.

Human Perspective:

Dylan is a licensed firearm owner living in suburban VIC. After returning home from work, he discovered his house had been violently ransacked following a break-in, with rooms torn apart, drawers emptied, cupboards forced open, and belongings strewn across the floor. Intruders had targeted his gun safe, which had been installed in compliance with VIC firearm safety laws, ripping it from its concrete wall and crowbarring it open. Despite having met every legal storage requirement, all 5 of Dylan’s firearms were stolen. Dylan reported that the invasion left him shaken and distressed, not only by the violation of his home but by the unbearable knowledge that weapons once locked inside were now unaccounted for. Dylan struggled to reconcile that his guns were now able to be used by anyone, anywhere, for purposes he could neither predict nor prevent.

Seven guns stolen from outback NSW station leaving owner 'sick in the guts' - ABC News

Trigger Warning: This section contains mentions of family violence

Sophie and her mother fled their family home to a nearby suburb after years of physical and verbal abuse from Sophie’s father. However, as tensions escalated, Sophie became increasingly fearful of her father’s access to firearms and the threat he posed to their lives and the community, especially as he stored his firearms at his home. On 3 separate occasions, she contacted police to report her concerns, explicitly alerting them that her father owned guns and that she and her mother believed there was a risk of violence. Despite these warnings, no immediate action was taken; Sophie’s father’s firearms remained stored in his home, readily available to him. Weeks later, her father went searching for Sophie’s mother while armed with those firearms, and in the process, he shot and murdered a different innocent woman. The cumulative impact of easy access to firearms, ignored warnings, and preventable harm left Sophie traumatised and burdened by the knowledge that earlier intervention may have prevented such a tragic and violent outcome.

WA gun owners accused of domestic violence to lose weapons in wake of Floreat shooting murders - ABC News

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:

N/A

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Disclaimers

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Reference list:

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Australian Border Force. (2021). Operational safety order. https://www.abf.gov.au/about-us-subsite/files/operational-safety-order-2021-redacted.pdf.

Australian Gun Safety Alliance. (n.d.). Gun Safety Advocates Support a Ten-Point Plan for Firearm Reform. https://www.gunsafetyalliance.org.au/updates/gun-safety-advocates-support-a-ten-point-plan-for-firearm-reform/#:~:text=End%20metropolitan%20home,auditable%20custody%20logs.

Australian Gun Safety Alliance. (n.d.). Support firearm safety. https://www.gunsafetyalliance.org.au/have-yoursay/#:~:text=overwhelming%20evidence%20that%20Australians%20want%20stronger%20gun%20laws.

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Bourke, K. (2024, June 2). WA gun owners accused of domestic violence to lose weapons in wake of Floreat shooting murders. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-02/wa-gun-law-family-violence-reform/103924750

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Gun Control Australia. (2018, April 9). Firearms Theft in Australia 2007-2017. https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/guncontrolparty/pages/206/attachments/original/1523270637/Firearms_Theft_in_Australia_2007-2017_%28GCA%29.pdf

Gun Control Australia. (n.d.). Policy Platform. https://www.guncontrolaustralia.org/policy_platform

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Olbrycht-Palmer, J. (2026, January 13). Gun-owners will not be ‘punished’ by Bondi reforms, PM says. NewsWire. https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/gunowners-will-not-be-punished-by-bondi-reforms-pm-says/news-story/4554002577171ef1e1aca130a52716b1

Pakenham Firearms. (n.d.). Pakenham Firearms. https://www.pakenhamfirearms.com.au/

Pin, P. (2025, December 18). Gun control debate heats up over proposed NSW firearm cap in wake of Bondi Beach shooting. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-18/reaction-mixed-to-gun-reform-proposal-after-bondi-beach-shooting/106148350?

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Rutgers Health Gun Violence Research Centre. (n.d.). From Guns to Intimate Partner Violence: The Impact of Power and Control. https://gunviolenceresearchcenter.rutgers.edu/research/gvrc-funded-projects/guns-intimate-partner-violence-the-impact-power-and-control

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