Pressure on ALP over terrorist gun licence

By the Editorial Team · Friday, August 28, 2026

The NSW Labor government faces scrutiny over the three-year delay in granting a firearms licence to Sajid Akram, the Bondi terror attacker, amid questions about whether his initial application was rejected due to security concerns. Industry experts and former officials argue the lengthy approval process contradicts typical timelines and call for greater transparency, while the government maintains that an ongoing investigation limits disclosure.

The New South Wales (NSW) Labor government is under pressure to clarify why it took three years for Sajid Akram, the gunman responsible for the Bondi terror attack last December, to be granted a firearms licence, and whether his initial application faced rejection due to security concerns.

Akram, who was fatally shot by police during the attack, applied for a gun licence in June 2020 and was issued the licence in July 2023. The NSW Firearms Registry initially attributed the delay to processing backlogs following the massacre. However, internal documents reveal that the average licence processing time in 2020 was approximately 96 days, and the backlog that arose in 2021 had been cleared well over a year before Akram’s licence was approved.

Records indicate that the only unresolved applications from 2020 involved four internal reviews, a formal procedure for applicants whose licences were initially denied. Notably, Akram had been investigated in 2019 by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) alongside his son, Naveed Akram, who is also alleged to have been involved in the attack. ASIO concluded that neither posed a threat at that time, though Naveed remained under counter-terrorism surveillance by intelligence agencies and police in 2022.

Industry representatives have questioned the government’s stated reasons for the lengthy processing time. James Walsh, chief executive of the Shooting Industry Foundation Australia, said most firearm licence applications in NSW were finalized within months, not years. He suggested that “something clearly happened” in Akram’s case that has not been publicly disclosed and called for transparency regarding the vetting process and what he described as a failure to enforce existing gun laws. Walsh criticized the government’s response to introduce tighter restrictions on lawful firearm owners as inadequate.

Similarly, Pete Szaak, chief executive of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) and a former police officer, stated that the backlog explanation was inconsistent with his experience. He noted that a delay of several years would be unusual unless the application underwent an internal review or was referred to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Paul Toole, former NSW police minister and current Nationals MP, criticized the government for approving Akram’s licence shortly after coming to power in July 2023. Toole described the approval as a “failure” of government agencies and argued that the subsequent gun law reforms unfairly penalize responsible firearms owners. He highlighted that during his ministerial tenure, efforts were made to modernize the Gun Safe licensing portal to reduce backlogs and streamline processes, calling some previous systems “archaic.”

Police Minister Yasmin Catley and NSW Police have declined to comment on the matter, citing ongoing criminal investigations, the upcoming coronial inquest, and the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion as reasons to withhold details at this stage.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.