Dann, Susan and Paul Wilson. 1993 ‘Gun Ownership & Violence in Australia: Strategies for Reduction.’ Current Issues in Criminal Justice; 5 (1), p. 42. Brisbane: Sydney Institute of Criminology, The University of Sydney. 1 July

Relevant contents

Overview of the Australian Firearms Situation

[T]he most recent figures available on gun ownership are based on the 1989 International Victims of Crime Survey in which a random sample of households revealed a household gun ownership level of approximately 20.7%. This represents between 994,881 and 1,184,383 households throughout Australia."

The proportion of households with guns varies according to location with approximately 41.1 per cent rural households owning a gun compared with only 11.7 per cent of households in the major metropolitan areas (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide)… (3)

It has been estimated that there are at least 3.5 to 4 million guns in private ownership in Australia…(4)

Table 3: Estimates of probable gun ownership based on an estimate of 3.5 million guns and a total of 2,083,000 owners…

Table 4: Estimates of probable gun ownership based on an estimate of 4 million guns and a total of 2,381,000 owners…

[A]pproximately 80% of the population do not own a gun…

There are an estimated 1.5 million people in Australia who own firearms for any reason. Compared to the national population of 17.5 million this is a relatively small proportion…

Sources cited:

3) Chappell, D, "A national gun control strategy: The Recommendation of the National Committee on Violence", (1992) 3/3 Criminology Australia at 3.

4) Chappell, D, Grabosky, P, Wilson, P and Mukherjee,S, "Firearms and Violence in Australia" (1988) Trends and Issues No 10, Australian Institute of Criminology.

Last accessed at:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/CICrimJust/1993/