First Aust gun amnesty since Port Arthur

Australia will have its first national gun amnesty since the Port Arthur massacre in a bid to stop terrorists getting their hands on the nation's 260,000 illegal weapons.

Federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan says the three-month amnesty will start on July 1 and gives people a chance to get rid of an old guns instead of facing severe penalties.

"We have seen, through terror attacks in Australia, that illegal guns have been used," he said on Friday.

But Tasmanian lawyer and Gun Control Australia vice chair Roland Browne wants better gun storage laws introduced to prevent theft, a ban on semi-automatic handguns and stricter licence requirements.

"Amnesty won't fix this problem. Amnesty is a bandaid," Mr Browne told AAP.

The national amnesty will be the first since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, after 35 people died at hands of gunman Martin Bryant.