A 20-year-old suspected white supremacist was arrested in Perth and charged with preparing terror attacks at mosques, police headquarters and the WA state parliament, exposing how vulnerable Australia's firearms licensing has remained under outdated state laws.
Jayson Joseph Michaels, from the town of Bindoon north of Perth, appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court facing five charges, with police alleging he was plotting to attack WA Parliament House, police headquarters and Muslim faith places of worship. WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said police had been monitoring Michaels since January and had seized firearms, imitation firearms, a ballistic vest, gas masks, and lock picking equipment.
The discovery of seven rifles at Michaels' family home in the Wheatbelt town of Bindoon raises serious questions about how someone with no prior intelligence history was able to acquire so many weapons. Officers seized seven rifles from Michael's property, and police had no intelligence about him before the investigation started, with WA Police Commissioner noting that "someone can be online and be radicalised so easily, and have no record about their history".
Michaels' access to firearms occurred under Western Australia's old Firearms Act, which operated under a system of loopholes that only recently have been addressed. In December 2024, Western Australia passed sweeping reforms to its firearms legislation, becoming one of the strictest in Australia, with effect from 31 March 2025, including caps on the number of firearms an individual may own of a maximum of five and limitations on magazine capacities.
The case mirrors concerns raised by recent mass shooting incidents. Australia's Parliament passed anti-hate speech and gun laws following a mass shooting that killed 15 people at a Jewish festival in Sydney, with Home Affairs Minister noting that alleged gunmen Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram wouldn't have been allowed to possess guns under the proposed laws because the father wasn't an Australian citizen.
Under WA's new Firearms Act, the regulatory environment has changed substantially. The new laws include mandatory licence disqualification for serious offenders such as family and domestic violence perpetrators, limits on the number of guns an individual can own with primary producers and competition shooters restricted to a maximum of 10 firearms and five for recreational hunters, and mandatory firearms training with all gun owners required to undergo regular health assessments and comply with new storage requirements.
The stricter regime reflects a recognition that firearms access requires more rigorous oversight. The reforms introduce crucial measures including restrictions on the number of firearms individuals can own, mandatory safety training, health assessments, stricter storage requirements, and the introduction of new offences and orders, with three in four Australians supporting limiting the number of firearms an individual can own.
The charge of acting in preparation for a terrorist act carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and Michaels remains in custody. He was remanded in custody to reappear in the same court on March 23.
The Michaels case demonstrates that even in jurisdictions with established firearms licensing frameworks, gaps remain. It will be alleged that Michaels was acting alone and had written a "concerningly detailed" manifesto outlining plans for an ideologically motivated "extremely serious terrorist attack" involving firearms and explosives. Blanch said the man lived with his parents and alleged he had been radicalised online.