The Arms Act 2026 is an overhaul ofthe Arms Act 1983, making significant changes to the regulation offirearms in New Zealand.
The Act comes into force on 23 September 2026, including the establishment of the new firearms regulator. Some changes will only come into force in 2027 and 2028.
The 2026 Act’s most significant change is separating responsibility for firearms regulation from the Police and handing it to a newly created Arms Regulator (“Regulator”). The Regulator will be responsible for the administration of the 2026 Act, including firearms licensing and registration.
The Regulator will report independently to the Minister responsible for the Act, but will be “hosted” by the Police, using their corporate resources. Police will not be involved in regulatory matters such as licensing but Police will still work closely with the Regulator to enforce firearms safety. The Regulator and Police’s relationship will include a new “red-flag” system whereby the Police, and other government agencies such as the Security Intelligence Service, will be able to alert the Regulator to information that may affect a licence holder’s “fit and proper” status.
The Police’s current internal review process for decisions on firearms licences will be disestablished. A new Firearms Licence Review Committee (“FLRC”) will review decisions to refuse or revoke a licence, including decisions to impose conditions on licences.
The 2026 Act has renamed “dealer’s licences” to “business licences” and simplified endorsements for business employees. If a person holds a business license for two years without any compliance issues, their licence duration will be extended to five years.
Business licences will still only be issued to individuals (not organisations), but employees of endorsed business license holders will no longer need to obtain endorsements on their personal firearms licences. Business licence holders will also no longer require permits to possess prohibited firearms for up to 21 days, where they receive those firearms for the purposes of repairing, deactivating or converting them to non-prohibited firearms. This exception does not come into force until 23 February 2028.
Firearms or firearm parts manufactured for personal use will only be permitted to be on-sold to licensed businesses.
The 2026 Act also creates a museum-specific licence that doesn’t have to be held by the curator of the museum, rather the best placed employee to do so.
Gang members are now explicitly disqualified from holding a firearms licence.
LFOs will have the option of having secure storage facilities at any location approved by the Regulator instead of their home address.
From February 2028, when the Regulator is concerned about an LFO’s mental health, they will be able to suspend their licence for up to 12 months. This would give the LFO a full year to seek medical advice, receive reports, and address the Regulator’s concerns before they risk having their licence revoked. This is an important change as currently a suspension may only be issued for up to 90 days and during that time, a LFO would need to provide evidence the mental health issue did not affect their ability to safely use a firearm.
The 2026 Act provides for regulations to specify infringement offences (such as for administrative errors). The Regulator will be empowered to issue infringement notices and fees, with 90-day suspensions for ongoing low-level non-compliance.
The specific offence in the 1983 Act of possessing a firearm after having a licence revoked has not been carried over into the 2026 Act. Persons with revoked licences will be able to use firearms while under the direct supervision of an LFO.
Most of the offences from the 1983 Act, which have been carried over into the 2026 Act, have had their penalties increased. In addition, the 2026 Act provides for eight new offences related to firearms safety (such as unsafe storage) and the black-market firearms trade (such as the unlawful 3D printing of firearms).
While the 2026 Act includes many policy changes from the 1983 Act, LFOs' obligations regarding the use and possession of firearms has not drastically changed. The same requirements for an LFO to be a fit and proper person to possess a firearms licence remain, and the 2026 Act still provides that the possession and use of firearms is a privilege. Breaches of firearms regulations still carry serious consequences.
The firearms registry has been continued in the 2026 Act, though the Regulator will not be able to require information beyond what is explicitly provided for by the 2026 Act and its regulations. Other previous changes to firearms law such as the ban on military-style semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines also remain. Outside of the 2026 Act’s administrative changes, LFOs’ day-to-day ownership of firearms will not be significantly different.
The 2026 Act does not define “possess”, which leaves considerable uncertainty regarding the occasions where a person, particularly persons without a licence, are in possession of a firearm. This ambiguity is particularly serious given that the 2026 Act continues the 1983 presumption that persons occupying premises or vehicles in which arms items are found are deemed to be in possession of those items. LFOs should take care to ensure that their firearms and ammunition are not left accessible to unlicensed persons in their premises or vehicles.
The criteria for when a person may not be “fit and proper” allows the Regulator to take into account any matter the Regulator considers relevant. This has been carried over from the 1983 Act. It leaves the specific criteria for when a person is “fit and proper” uncertain and has previously allowed for persons to be denied firearms licences on grounds unrelated to firearm safety.
The 2026 Act also leaves many areas of the upcoming firearms law to regulations that have not been made yet. Matters such as the definitions of many arms items, safe storage requirements, and information for the registry will be provided for in these regulations.
The 2026 Act specifies that fees will be reviewed every five years. This will require consultation with those affected.
For further information on these changes or similar issues, please contact Managing Director Brigitte Morten.
