How a surge in homemade firearms is threatening Australian gun control

Australia’s top lawyers must urgently address the threat of homemade firearms as loopholes and technological advances threaten the nation’s strong gun controls.

Guns made from household items or 3D-printed using blueprints off the internet continue surfacing since police from around the nation warned of a significant and growing threat to public safety.

In the latest seizure, four men have been arrested for alleged roles in a cross-border gun ring supplying homemade weapons.

Alongside the guns, police also seized memory cards containing blueprints to manufacture more weapons with 3D printers.

Both NSW and Tasmania have legislated against possessing digital blueprints for firearms, and South Australia has announced it will follow, but other states have lagged.

Jurisdictions need to co-ordinate their approach, law and justice expert Andrew Hemming told AAP.

“The best option to secure a national approach would be for the standing council of attorneys-general to put 3D-guns on its agenda as a matter of urgency,” the University of Southern Queensland associate professor said.

The council — comprising of the federal attorney-general, state and territory counterparts and the New Zealand justice minister - did not discuss firearms when it met in February.

The topic was last broached at quarterly meetings in relation to the development of a national firearms register in 2023.

Assoc Prof Hemming said states and territories should introduce similar legislation targeting 3D-printed guns, rather than it being a commonwealth offence.

“This avoids issues of jurisdiction ... most crimes are dealt with under state and territory criminal laws,” he said.

Police around the nation continue to come across privately manufactured and 3D-printed weapons.

WA Police seized 21 3D-printed firearms in Perth’s northern suburbs in October, the same month senior police convened in Melbourne alongside intelligence officials, forensic experts, academics and industry leaders to discuss the threat homemade firearms posed.

About a week after the meeting, NSW Police began investigating an alleged manufacturing ring operating around the state’s border with the ACT.

Months later, the investigation led to police finding dozens of guns during raids on both sides of the border on Tuesday.

NSW Police Detective Superintendent Tim Beattie said police had seized a significant number of illegal firearms.

“There is no doubt in my mind that those firearms were destined to the hands of our organised crime networks, and in doing so we’ve created a safer environment for this community,” Det Supt Beattie told reporters on Wednesday.

“The NSW Police Force, and indeed all our partner agencies, are well aware of this growing industry of 3D-printed firearms,” he said.

Four men aged between 27 and 60 were charged with a number of gun and drug offences.

The high-profile alleged murder of a healthcare executive with a 3D-printed gun on a New York City street has also drawn recent attention to the weapons, which have evolved significantly since designs first appeared online in 2013.