Australia and Firearms

[philw]

G'Day All

I was asked about what it is like over here.

well, where do I start, apart from you guys are lucky, and I hope you don't get like it is here in Australia.

firstly I have only been shooting a short time ( 3 years )
however I wish i got in to it sooner

I thought I would explain for you all what we go through to first get a license to own fire arms, some of the requirements that need to be met and how we go about acquiring them, I am sure I will miss some things though.

this is also post 1997 after the Port Arthur Massacre  and the goverment theft of the guns here

firstly  to own a gun you need to be licensed before owning one
to get that you need to go to the police and apply to get a licence (with 100 points of ID )
then that gets sent to the Fire Arm Registry (FaR) in your state.  Once the back ground check has been done and then they send a letter back for you to undertake your safty training that can take up to a month or more to get back

as I had on my application for purpose of use (why i want guns and what I intend on using them for) i then need to  organise to do the training (at my expense ).   if I have added club use to shoot competition at a range I also need on top on that be a member of a regognised club and also take part of there training ( there is more to pistols I will go over that later)

once that is all done then that goes back to the FaR for them to approve your licence and the class's and purposes that you have applied for when you have that you can go and get the photo taken as it is a photo licence like a drivers licence pay up the fee for it and you now have your license.

now to explain the purposes and classes
Class A

Air rifles, air guns and paint-ball firearms;
.22 calibre rim-fire rifles (not being self-loading rifles);
Single or double barrel shotguns (not being self-loading or pump action shotguns).
receivers of these firearms
Class B

Muzzle loading firearms (not being handguns);
Revolving chamber rifles;
Centre-fire rifles (not being self-loading rifles);
Break action combination shotguns and rifles;
Double barrel centre-fire rifles that are not designed to hold additional Rounds in a magazine, and
All other firearms (not being prescribed firearms, handguns, self-loading Firearms or pump action shotguns) that are not class A firearms.
receivers of these firearms.
Class C

Self-loading rim-fire rifles having a magazine capacity of 10 rounds or less;
Self-loading shotguns having a magazine capacity of 5 rounds or less;
Pump action shotguns having a magazine capacity of 5 rounds or less.
receivers of these firearms (does not include revolving chamber rifles)
Class D

Self-loading rim-fire rifles having a magazine capacity of more than 10 rounds;
Self-loading centre-fire rifles;
Self-loading shotguns having a magazine capacity of more than 5 rounds;
Pump action shotguns having a magazine capacity of more than 5 rounds.
receivers of these firearms (does not include revolving chamber rifles)
Class H

Handguns.

further to that
Access to Restricted Firearms

Access to Class C firearms

This will be limited to:-

1. Primary Producer

This includes employees and relatives who live on or near the land on which that business is carried on and must be employed in that business. Applicants must show a genuine need for the firearm for the purpose of that business and that there is no satisfactory alternative to using a firearm of that class. There is a limit of one self-loading rifle and one self-loading shotgun or pump action shotgun per licensed person.

2. Clay Target Shooters

The applicant must be a member of the SA Clay Target Association Incorporated or the Australian Clay Target Association Incorporated (ACTA) and must also be a member of a recognised firearms club affiliated with either of those associations (the ACTA is the accredited association for shooting the discipline at Olympic or Commonwealth competitions). Applicants must also show a genuine need for the class C firearm for the purpose of an activity of the club conducted in accordance with the rules of the Australian Clay Target Association Inc.

3. Collectors

Licensed, bona fide firearms collectors will be able to possess class C firearms in a collection provided they have been rendered temporarily incapable of use, by removal and separate secure storage of the bolt and or firing pin, breech b;lock or immobilised by means of a trigger lock. A collector's licence does not allow a person to use a class C firearm.

Access to Class D firearms

This will be limited to an applicant who gains their livelihood wholly or partly from professional shooting and the applicant needs the firearm to destroy animals in the course of professional shooting. If the applicant does not satisfy the legislative requirements to have possession of a class D firearm, the applicant will not be granted a firearms licence to possess these firearms.

now

(2) Subject to subregulation (3), one or more of the following purposes may be endorsed on a firearms licence

use as a member of a recognised firearms club - 1;
target shooting - 2; (but not a match at a club)
hunting - 3;
paint-ball shooting - 4;
use in relation to carrying on the business of primary production or in the course of employment by a person who carries on such a business - 5;
use in the course of carrying on the business of guarding property or use in guarding property in the course of employment by a person who carries on that business - 6;
such other purpose as is approved by the Registrar - 7;
Collectors need to have a separate licence altogether.
(sorry for the legal wording it was copy and past )


this is what it is in South Australia and is mostly the same around the place

have I done your heads in yet 


now for my first gun.......     (not a pistol yet)

need to fill out a Permit to Acquire (PTA)
that goes to the FaR then there is a 28 day wait to have that processed. once the back ground check is done then they send back the ok, then the transfer of the firearm needs to be witnessed by either a license dealer or police member (+ a couple of extra like a club official or customs officer i think not 100% on that)   once that has happened you MUST go to a police station and register that firearm and pay the registration fee you have 14 days from the transfer to do that.

depending on what purposes you put down on the PTA mean you can only use that firearm for the reasons you said you would ( I just put everything i am able to to make sure I am all covered)

one new thing that has changed here in SA is once you have 1 firearm in a class any more that you buy there is no need for the 28 day wait you just have to wait on how long it takes the FaR to process the application

sounds crap hay.... it gets better


that is for long arms

one thing for those playing at home did any one notice that self defense is not a reason for owning a gun (scary hay)

now pistols ( I am in this at the moment)

if you apply to have class H
you MUST be a member of a club first,  then you apply to the FaR for class H license
once that comes back for training you then need to get training done at the club  and partake in 10 sessions
when that is compleated some paperwork is filled out and the club sends in the paperwork back to FaR

once that is back and you get a new photo license back, 
I could not find the exact bit however once you have paid for the licence change or new licence for H you then have a 6 month wait
before you can put a PTA in for 1 ( or 2 ca not remember )  expect air pistol or black powder, you don't need to wait the 6 months.
you can only buy one in the first 12 months, after that you can apply for more, however you must wait i think another 12 months after the first one if it is larger than .38. There are limited events for them single action or cowboy for the ,44 and .45 only metallic silhouette, there are talk of this changing , to allow more events as there are some global comps (IPSC ect) that have the .45's DAM I WANT A 1911 in .45 hehe


here is more legal crap     in short you need to be an active member and have a min amount of matches you need to go to and if you have more than one pistol in a different class then add 4 more matches for each class 

ACTIVE MEMBER OF A CLUB - Class H only
Definition of ACTIVE, see section 5 (1)

Over the 12 month period of the firearm licence, a member must participate in 6 organised competitive shooting matches.

Additional Requirement - Condition of a licence. Reg. 19 (7c)

A member must for each category of handgun registered, complete 4 club organised shoots.

Categories for handguns are;

Category 1 - Air or gas operated handguns,
Category 2 - .22 Rim-fire handguns,
Category 3 - Centre-fire handguns not more than .38 calibre, and
Category 4 - handguns over .38 calibre.
APPLICATION OF ACTIVE - for H class only

Club must keep records of:

Name of member
Dates of attendance in each category
Club chits should indicate;

Name of club, name of member,
That the person is an active member of the club,
Dates of shoots in each category, minimum requirements to identify 6 and 4 shoots.
Signed and dated by club secretary or nominated person
EXAMPLES

For a licence holder with handguns in one category only, a minimum of six organised competitive shooting matches is required.
For a licence holder with handguns that fit in two separate categories, a minimum of 10 recorded matches for recognised disciplines is required. (6 in one category and 4 in the other)
For a licence holder with handguns that fit in three separate categories, a minimum of 14 recorded matches for recognised disciplines is required. (6 in one and 4 in each of the other 2 categories)
For a licence holder with handguns that fit the four categories, a minimum of 18 recorded matches for recognised disciplines is required. (6 in one and 4 in each of the other 3 categories)
Where a member has no handguns registered, the member may complete 6 shoots in any combination of the 4 categories.
New licence holders should be aware that if they purchase their first handguns in the second 6 months of their licence they will need to comply with one of the first 2 dot points under this section.

the only reason apart from working in security for a pistol is club use.


now that we have our guns, storing them.

the state's firearm regulations category A and B firearms must be kept in a locked container made of either hardwood or steel which is securely attached to the building - unless it weighs more the 150 kilograms. Category C, D or H firearms must held in a steel container. Ammunition must be kept in a separate locked container.


dam I think i have covered it,   sorry for the long post,

and to think this is what us LAFO's (Law Abiding Firearm Owner) goes though here. yet the Criminals don't they just have them and do what they want.  tell me who is being treated like a criminal

Please ask if you don't understand anything I have mentioned I hope I could explain it better

also please ask here if you have any questions

[1776 Rebel]

Philw

welcome to the forum. Hope to hear more of your adventures....But with regard to the regulations I am sure that there is no crime in Australia as a result. Because politicians are soooo smart they devised  a system that works like a bank vault. Criminals must quake in their boots when they even think about arming themselves. Right?

[tombogan03884]

Good God ! Welcome to the forum, you've certainly had to jump through hoops to join the ranks of gun owners.

[cooptire]

HOLY PLATYPUS, BATMAN! 

I hope you don't mind me sending that post on to ALL of the people I know who own a gun here. Man oh man, if that doesn't make you want to cry, I don't know what does.

[Big Frank]

Good God, Phil. That's even more screwed up than I thought it was. I knew it was bad but didn't know how many hoops you had to jump through. Now that you have a gun I'm wondering about ammo purchases.

To give you an idea what it's like here;
You have to be 18 to buy rifles and shotguns and ammo for them. You have to be 21 to buy pistols and pistol ammo. You can buy .22 RF ammo if you're 18 and you tell them it's for a rifle, but if you say it's for a handgun you have to be 21.     Paintball markers are not guns. BB guns aren't guns either, but pellet guns are.    Weird laws in my state. But I can walk into a store and buy as many rifles and shotguns as I want on the spot. I have to wait overnight for the police to check my records to get approved to buy a pistol, because we don't have instant background checks in Michigan. They finally did away with the state requirement to bring the pistol into the police station for a "safety inspection". There are no storage or trigger lock requirements. Every state is different but I believe this is fairly representative of most states in the U.S. Not counting of course the cities that ban hanguns and "assault weapons" whatever those may be. I always thought about what I can't have that people in other states can, like suppressors. I never knew I had it so good until you put it in context for me.

[Sponsor]

[PegLeg45]

Thanks, Phil for that exhaustive post.

Like someone else stated earlier, I never knew you guys had it so rough just to own a single firearm.

I'd like to pass the info along to others I know to hopefully open some eyes as to how good we really have it (compared to others) and how very important it is to continue to fight to hold on to what we have.

Thanks.
PegLeg

[shooter32]

Thanks, Phil for that exhaustive post.

Like someone else stated earlier, I never knew you guys had it so rough just to own a single firearm.

I'd like to pass the info along to others I know to hopefully open some eyes as to how good we really have it (compared to others) and how very important it is to continue to fight to hold on to what we have.

Thanks.
PegLeg

Well said PegLeg.

We all bitch and moan about how things are here, but Thank God we have what we have!!!  And like PegLeg said we have to continue to fight to keep it that way!!!!!!!!!!!!

Glad your on board Phil.

[twyacht]

Unbelievable Phil! Welcome to DRTV. I thought going "Down Under" would be a final frontier, as the unpopulated sections of the country are so vast, firearms would be "less" regulated, except for the major cities,..etc...

Sorry to hear about your "red tape" at such a level. It seems your one step away from a law that will send the police to your house, they know who owns all the guns anyway, and seizing them. I hope it never comes to that.

Thank you for your post, it gives me motivation to continue to fight similiar tactics here in the US.

Tom W

[philw]

l. It seems your one step away from a law that will send the police to your house, they know who owns all the guns anyway, and seizing them. I hope it never comes to that.

Tom W

that is what happened back in 97  when most people list the Semi Auto's  ( and they said it would not happen )



I forgot to add
 here you need to be 18 years old to own firearms  and must have a license to by ammo  be it pistol or rifle

also jumbofrank  yes to have a slug gun / air soft pistol  and as you saw paint ball gun, they all need to be licensed

also feel free to pass that on to others so they can see what we need to go though to be a LAFO

[Fatman]

Geebus!  Matt Quigley would be pissed if he saw this!