In New Zealand, the Arms Act 1983 is the primary statute controlling the possession and use of firearms and air guns.

The basic premise of the New Zealand arms control regime is the licensing of individuals as being fit and proper persons to possess firearms.

In March 2016, Parliament's Law and Order Select Committee announced an Inquiry into issues relating to the illegal possession of firearms in New Zealand.

In its final report the committee made 20 recommendations, though the government of the day only accepted 7, Parliament was unable to pass the proposed legislation before the 2017 general election intervened and the bill lapsed because it was not supported by the new government.

In response to the Christchurch mosque shootings, the act was amended to ban semi-automatic firearms, magazines, and parts that can be used to assemble prohibited firearms via the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019,[2] with the support of all parties represented in parliament except the opposition ACT Party.