Thread: New aussie Firearm rules

Just seen this pop up on farcebook.
Western aussie does hate firearms in general so I do believe it.
For those that don't know it is a general requirement in pretty much h all of aussie to either belong to a club and/have permission to shoot on someone's property to obtain and keep your license.
WA also has been doing their permit scheme where you can't just buy another rifle. If you have one similar well you just have to really prove it's completely different otherwise you won't get a permit or get rid of the other one.
Some of the stuff below about limiting people on properties was scuttling about years ago when I was over there so it looks like at least one state is having a hard push on it.
Be glad it's not here.

My Brother a farmer in SW Australia recieved the following.
How long before it comes here?

Just got this from our nanny state:
Dear Firearms Licence Holder,

I wish to inform you about recent legislative changes in the new Firearms Act 2024 that may impact your ability to maintain a firearm licence.

There have been significant changes to Written Authorities and Firearm Numerical Limits. Please review these changes to understand their potential impact on your circumstance.

For Individual Firearm Licences, there are two types of Written Authorities:

A Written Authority for a specific property (formerly a property letter), is an authorisation by a registered landholder to allow you to use your firearm on their property and;
A Written Authority from a club (formerly club support letter), is an authorisation by a club to support your competitive use of your firearm at licensed ranges.
New rules will be introduced for registering properties that grant authorisations, specifically the number and types of firearms permitted on each property. Property Owners will not be able to issue Written Authorities for financial gain and the number of available Written Authorities will be finite.

All properties must be registered (using the Landgate ID) and will be assessed for size, location, and feral pest issues;
The WA Police Force will apply the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) pest density distribution reports and the humane destruction guidelines when determining the maximum permitted calibre and number of Written Authorities;
All properties where shooting activities (hunting) are to take place must be approved by the WA Police Force;
This will be standardised across the State; and
Property owners may decide not to register their properties to issue Written Authorities under the new laws.
All current property and club support letters will become redundant; however, these changes will not take effect until early 2025 and it is not possible to obtain a new Written Authority until that time. When these new provisions come into effect Licensing Services will contact you prior to your renewal date to seek a new Written Authority to support the renewal of your licence. In the interim, you will automatically be issued a Transitional Licence allowing some time for these requirements to be met.

In addition, Firearm Numerical Limits have been introduced which will apply to Firearm Licence Holders. If you possess quantities of firearms that exceed the regulated allowable number, you will be required to lawfully dispose of those firearms.

As part of the Firearms Act Reform, the Western Australia Government is offering a voluntary buyback scheme to compensate firearm holders who wish to surrender their firearms. Please be reminded the buyback scheme is only available until the 31 August 2024.

Should you have any questions regarding this matter, further information can be found on the following websites:

WA Police Forces website: Firearms-Act-Reform

Legislation WA website: Firearms Act 2024

Yours sincerely,

DIVISIONAL SUPERINTENDENT
FIREARM REFORM DIVISION
10 August 2024