Illegal firearm owners could soon have a chance to surrender their guns without penalty, after the Commonwealth, states and territories agreed to pursue an amnesty.

The Coalition will also introduce legislation to Parliament this week that would mean tougher sentencing for people convicted of gun smuggling.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan said he and his state police minister colleagues reached an "in-principle" agreement on a national amnesty, and confirmed there would be no buyback of illicit guns.

Further details, including when the national amnesty would take place, will be decided at the next police ministers' meeting.

Mr Keenan said "thousands" of illegal guns could be handed in under an amnesty, which would provide an opportunity for owners of so-called "grey-market" guns, which were not surrendered under the 1996 buyback or previous amnesties, to hand those in without penalty.

"Somebody might have grandpa's old gun in the back shed that hasn't been registered, that we would like to be handed in," he said.

"We have done this in the past in Australia and it has been very successful in taking guns off the streets. Myself and my police minister colleagues think we have an opportune time to do this again.

"This isn't about people who legally own firearms, this is about targeting the grey market, the black market for guns, and getting these guns that are not registered, that are not held properly, off our streets."

Gun smugglers facing 20-year jail term

The Coalition will also introduce legislation to increase the maximum sentence for convicted gun smugglers to 20 years, and set a mandatory five-year minimum sentence for gun smuggling.

Mr Keenan said a mandatory minimum sentence would show Australia was "deadly serious" about cracking down on gun running, and cited mandatory sentences for assaulting police in his home state of Western Australia as evidence mandatory minimums worked.

Previous Coalition attempts to introduce a five-year mandatory gun-smuggling sentence were blocked by Labor.

The Opposition said it would consider the Government's latest legislation and declare its position "in due course".

Gun-owner advocates welcomed the steps towards a national amnesty, but warned efforts to crackdown on criminal use of guns must go further.

Robert Borzak from the Shooters' Party of NSW said that would be an important and effective way to get unused or unwanted guns removed from the community.

But he called for the Government to do more at the border to crack down on gun smuggling.

While he supported increased sentences for convicted gun smugglers, Mr Borzak also called for tougher penalties for all gun crimes.

"In NSW, I actually have a bill on the books calling on the Government to basically double the sentencing for anyone using a firearm in crime," he said.

"I think it's important for criminals to know that if they're not going to hand guns in — and that's illogical, guns are their tools in trade — that if they are caught with a firearm then there will be an extra penalty, and it will be a compulsory penalty.

"It [should] increase the penalty to the point where it's zero tolerance."