Thread: How long is the wait for police vetting?

Hi quick question I handed in the completed paper work for FAL, how long does it usually take for police to make contact to arrange vetting and check out rifle safe.

Anything from a month to 6 months

AO needs to co-ordinate a home visit, so they generally try to get a group of applications in the same suburb so they can do it in one visit out (no overtime approved for AO's). Then co-ordinate a visit with your referee. If your referee isn't available when your AO is, it'll cause a delay until they can meet. Then file the paperwork. Then wait for the license to be approved, then printed, then issued.

It'll take time due to the small team doing all the work, not front line officers.

😥 not the answer I wanted lol but very informative thanks

Sometimes they need a bit of nagging - my one they lost the file and apparently that isn't too unusual

id a thought about 4 to 6 weeks at most.
in my case years back i was running out out of time for duck opening and theyd approved the licence[bout 3 weeks including talking to spouse and referees] and gave me a letter so i could buy a gun and ammo. the actual licence arrived bout a week after opening.

It can also depend on whether it's a renewal or new licence application. In the case of a renewal the unrelated referee interview can be done by phone which usually expedites the process.

Generally, any delays are due to not being able to contact the applicant or one of the referees. Some people who've been asked to be a referee might, for whatever reason, decide to go on an overseas trip. Also, you'd be surprised at how many don't return calls when politely asked to.

takes far to long at times in certain areas of the country

I assume you have actualy sat the test?! If you have only filled out the application form and handed it to the police station then they will inform you of a date and time that the test takes place. You turn up, pass it, and only then should you be waiting on vetting, after thats dealt with you wait for the piece of plastic.

Roughly 2 months from course to licence in hand

Our eldest passed the mountain safety course on the 24 June and firearms licence arrived last night.

Ended up emailing the local fire arms police offeicer the vetter has been on leave . So has a large back log of work

From Course to Card was 3 months for mine. You need to be politely persistent including making phone calls, emails and as in my case an official complaint. According to the SSgt dealing with my complaint my application sat on a desk from May to July and it was only when I complained was it picked up and processed

Vetter rang up Sunday avo then came around 20 mins latter now its just a wait for the card
in the post hopefully,

They're pretty good in my experience....but only gone through the process once obviously.

I work overseas a lot, and I was able to coordinate all the interviews and security inspection to take place on the one day. When I followed up on the progress from overseas I was told my license had been approved and was emailed the number. The physical card was sent out and arrived a week later.

So timeline was:

- 6th August 2013 - Applied.
- 3rd September - Mountain Safety Council test (next available time I was in the country).
- 6th September - Interviews & security inspection by Firearms Vettor.
- 10th September - File physically handed to Arms Officer by Firearms Vettor.
- 10th September - License approved by Arms Officer and emailed to me on 11th September.
- Card arrived physically a week later (approx).

So about a month all up for me from application until receiving the license, and I was overseas for most of it. I was very proactive in emailing people and settings things up and helping the process along though.

Hope this helps.

My vetting was super fast for my E, but had a nice call from the AO this morning saying sorry its been so long, and I should have it in 3 weeks.
...that's 5 months from the start of the application
But it will be a good excuse to spend more time saving and celebrate on its arrival.