Thread: New FAL waiting time

Originally Posted by Slug

Changes to the ACT maybe coming...again?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/poli...cence-renewals

Good shit - but I’m not holding my breath waiting for any improvement.

Careful what you wish for with Cindy and co.

Just an update from someone (me) in the process currently:
June 2021 - Application submitted
November 2021 - Firearms safety course completed
September 2022 - Called up to change my reference from my partner because they are overseas until mid Jan 2023. Was told that they HAD to be my next of kin reference and that I will be unable to have my interviews/inspection until she is back so now im waiting till Jan 2023 minimum.
He also said that its unlikely they'll even get to me by then as my files is with the 'historic files team' who are still processing renewals not new applications (Christchurch based).
I also have a mate who submitted application in Feb 2022 and still no interviews...

So looks like ill be about 2 years before i get my license... till then I will have to keep dragging mates out with a FAL just so I can go hunting haha

Took 13months for me to get my gun license(new application) waikato based, got it midway through last month. My mate who i usually go with put his renewal in 9months ago and still hasnt got his FAL. I was cheeky abd told the firearms officer that my referee is awaiting his interview for his renewal so they did 2 birds 1 stone..

Originally Posted by jpurdon

Just an update from someone (me) in the process currently:
June 2021 - Application submitted
November 2021 - Firearms safety course completed
September 2022 - Called up to change my reference from my partner because they are overseas until mid Jan 2023. Was told that they HAD to be my next of kin reference and that I will be unable to have my interviews/inspection until she is back so now im waiting till Jan 2023 minimum.
He also said that its unlikely they'll even get to me by then as my files is with the 'historic files team' who are still processing renewals not new applications (Christchurch based).
I also have a mate who submitted application in Feb 2022 and still no interviews...

So looks like ill be about 2 years before i get my license... till then I will have to keep dragging mates out with a FAL just so I can go hunting haha

Similar boat as your friend for me. Application submitted Jan '22. Safety course completed March '22. Still no calls.

I was waiting 22 months, so I went into the firearms office and had a chat. They gave me a number of the backlog team in Wtgn...once I called them I had my license in about 5 weeks. Still just shy of 2 years. A total joke really. I think a 'polite squeaky wheel' works to some degree.

Originally Posted by small_caliber

What a crock this is a public service the Police are providing, what other business takes the attitude of lets provide a service at the most inappropriate time of day to inconvenience those applying or renewing, most businesses would go broke in short order.
I requested an interview during the weekend and was flat out refused as the vetters aren't working during that time.
If the police provided vetting outside work hours I would think that the wait times would shrink dramatically as there would be a lot fewer cancelling appointments due to work





How do you make out the Police are trying to expedite the process of getting a firearms license or a renewal processed?

They have made it so the interview process is at the most inconvenient time of day for a lot of New Zealanders, work hours, previously interviews were held during the evening which suited everyone that worked during the day.
Now some people have to apply for holidays so they can participate in an interview and be home for the security inspection, how is this expediting the process
My wife can only get 1/2 a day off work at a time, others may have to take longer off due to work location.
Setting up interviews by txt is an abysmal way of organising this as well, another way of delaying the process and blaming it on the applicant or referee.

Is it any wonder the wait times are so long, the police have done nothing at all to expedite the process.

So, if you want to renew your driver licence or sit a driving test, arrange finance for a mortgage, visit an optometrist (as a few examples) you would expect those businesses to visit you after 5:30 p.m.or the weekend because it's so much of an inconvenience to yourself to organize this once every 10 years. I don't know what country you're living in but it can't be NZ. Besides, many vettors work in the evenings and the weekend's in this country i.e.NZ, But no, they don't exist where you live because its all a conspiracy theory by the police there to delay your licence renewal or first time licence.

Originally Posted by 10-Ring

So, if you want to renew your driver licence or sit a driving test, arrange finance for a mortgage, visit an optometrist (as a few examples) you would expect those businesses to visit you after 5:30 p.m.or the weekend because it's so much of an inconvenience to yourself to organize this once every 10 years. I don't know what country you're living in but it can't be NZ. Besides, many vettors work in the evenings and the weekend's in this country i.e.NZ, But no, they don't exist where you live because its all a conspiracy theory by the police there to delay your licence renewal or first time licence.

Drivers license: AA and some VTNZ are open for licensing and renewals on Saturdays and even Sundays
Optometrist: also open Saturdays and Sundays, just did that a month ago
My mortgage guy came to me, that's pretty much standard these days

So if it's all peachy, why are multiple mates a year overdue?

Originally Posted by 10-Ring

So, if you want to renew your driver licence or sit a driving test, arrange finance for a mortgage, visit an optometrist (as a few examples) you would expect those businesses to visit you after 5:30 p.m.or the weekend because it's so much of an inconvenience to yourself to organize this once every 10 years. I don't know what country you're living in but it can't be NZ. Besides, many vettors work in the evenings and the weekend's in this country i.e.NZ, But no, they don't exist where you live because its all a conspiracy theory by the police there to delay your licence renewal or first time licence.

Finance managers i.e. bank referee's do visit after normal working hours and are quite accommodating. They want your money. More importantly they want you to lend off them, so they can make a butt-tonne of money off of you from the interest repayments from the loan.

If banks didn't accommodate for making meetings after the usual 9-5pm they would lose out on key revenue & profits.

Defending the deposition that police are simply doing their best and that we should work around this abysmal situation that they have created, is only but pandering to them.

It is the worst the firearms licensing system has ever been in the entire history of New Zealand. Trying to say that it isn't that bad, or they are only doing what they can, comes across as naive & foolish.

Originally Posted by Sasquatch

Finance managers i.e. bank referee's do visit after normal working hours and are quite accommodating. They want your money. More importantly they want you to lend off them, so they can make a butt-tonne of money off of you from the interest repayments from the loan.

If banks didn't accommodate for making meetings after the usual 9-5pm they would lose out on key revenue & profits.

Defending the deposition that police are simply doing their best and that we should work around this abysmal situation that they have created, is only but pandering to them.

It is the worst the firearms licensing system has ever been in the entire history of New Zealand. Trying to say that it isn't that bad, or they are only doing what they can, comes across as naive & foolish.

In my smaller rural town none of those places are open after hours. Didn't realise that happens in larger urban areas. My apologies. Takes me two weeks to get a phone interview with my GP. No chance of a face to face.

I never said any such thing as, "they are only doing what they can". As I mentioned earlier, some districts are definitely under performing and probably have been for a long time. It's unacceptable behaviour and I can understand an applicant's frustration with long waiting times. I have heard that those under-performer's are having pressure put on them to get up to speed. Whether they do or not remains to be seen. In contrast my B.O.P. district which comprises of Rotorua, Tauranga, Taupo and the South Waikato is one of the fastest in NZ with files being completed in a matter of months.

Bear in mind that there is a serious shortage of trained vettor's currently throughout the country. Some are just burn't out from overwork and long hours and have resigned. They're normal people who want a life too. Also, take into account that the Arms Officer has numerous change of addresses to organise, multiple on-line ammunition purchase forms to process in an average day. B,C, and D endorsements where there are three face to face referee interviews to be done in addition to the applicant. That's not an excuse; it's just a reality. $126 for a 10 year A licence renewal is chicken feed.

As far as I know it used to be a virtual right to have a firearms licence in this country provided the applicant and the referees checked out. I have heard that our current government had that changed to a privilege last year (could be wrong about that). I'm sure our Bill of Rights has some control over that though if it is the case.

To have an independent commercial company take control of firearms licensing you'd be looking at paying close to a $1,000 because they would need to employ at least three times as many people as the police have working for them, pay them a decent wage, charge for every on-line application for ammo sales, change of address visits, plus every kilometre traveled by the vettor, some of which I've heard do massive k's. An independent company would be expecting to make a decent profit on top of that as well. They wouldn't be doing it out of sympathy to firearms licence applicant's that's for sure.

The way I see it, if the government wants to implement all these checks and balances, its on them to ensure they have the staff and procedures in order to have licenses processed within an acceptable time frame at the end of the day.

Well, we will have to see what happens. I heard about the increased funding. There are some really good districts that get licences processed in a reasonable and prompt time frame and then you have the others. The impression you get by some on this forum is that all firearm licensing districts are taking a year or more. I can understand the frustration and anger for those that live in an area like that.

My timeline:

Renewal submitted: May 2021

Licence expired: June 2021. Cleared out safe and stored firearms and ammo with a licenced mate.

12 month extension granted: 08/10/2021. Took firearms and ammo back off mate.

Noticed 12 month extension was due to expire. Emailed Arms Office to get an update and maybe () even an extension to the extension. Obviously got told no.

12 month extension expires: June 2022, as it was 12 months from original FAL expiry, not 12 months from the extension being granted in October 2021. Offload firearms and ammo again. This time to a different licenced mate.

Vetting interviews take place: Very early Sep 2022. During the day wasn't an issue in my case. I'm a shift worker, wife works just down the road and was interviewed at her place of work. Referee lives a block away and is retired. Interviewer was lovely, seemed scathing of Police and this govt in general, particularly regarding covid. I wondered if they were fishing to see what opinions I would open up about to a "sympathetic" bureaucrat.

3+ weeks later and still no FAL.

Total wait time since submitting the paperwork: 16 months so far. Not as bad as some, but bad enough.

Misses applied for her first time/new FAL in March. Done the course 3 weeks later, interviews done all in one location within 2h end of August and her license came last week.

Just got mine in Queensland after applying in early Jan - well over 9 months.
Annoying thing is I’m moving to ACT in Jan and will need a new one there.