Tough new laws cracking down on organised crime networks pass NSW Parliament
Official media release /Friday, 5 June 2026
The Minns Labor Government’s reforms cracking down on organised crime, with new offences and tougher penalties for public shootings, firebombings and the recruitment of children for criminal activity, have passed NSW Parliament.
The new laws create a new aggravated offence targeting the use of ‘kill cars’ which are used to facilitate organised crime and then torched to destroy the evidence.
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Organised and Gang-related Crime Reforms) Bill 2026 also makes it harder for organised criminals to profit from violence and intimidation. Authorities will have up to five years, instead of one, to seek forfeiture of assets held by people subject to Drug Trafficker Declarations.
The legislation includes important bail reform which enhances the ability of the courts to take an accused’s organised crime links into account when making bail decisions.
Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said:
“This is a major blow to organised crime across New South Wales. These laws go straight to the criminal operating model: the guns, the cars, the money and the cowards who recruit children to do their dirty work.
“If you fire a gun in public, torch a business, burn a kill car or use a child to commit crime, our cops are coming for you with tough new powers.
“Police are disrupting these networks every day. These reforms give them a harder edge and stronger backing.
“Organised crime thrives when it thinks the system is too slow, too soft or too narrow. Not anymore. The Parliament has sent a clear message that we will not tolerate criminal networks terrorising our streets.”
Attorney General Michael Daley said:
“These new offences and tougher penalties send a clear message to organised criminals whose brazen behaviour puts the public at risk: you will be caught and have the book thrown at you.
“This legislation also gives the courts more tools to keep the community safe by making involvement in organised crime an explicit factor in bail decisions.
“We’re targeting gangs whose vendettas are putting innocent members of the public at risk through shootings and firebombings. We’re also going after criminals who recruit children to break in and steal cars which then torched in a bid to destroy the evidence.”
