Firearms and Weapons Legislation Amendment Bill 2017 (NSW)

Friday 2 June 2017 @ 10.26 a.m. | Crime | Legal Research

The Firearms and Weapons Legislation Amendment Bill 2017 (The Bill) has been introduced into the New South Wales Parliament. It will amend the Firearms Act 1996 and the Weapons Prohibition Act 1998 as well as other relevant regulations to provide for the updated National Firearms Agreement (NFA). The Bill comes after a joint Commonwealth-New South Wales review into the Martin Place siege recommended an update to the “technical” elements of the NFA.

National Firearms Agreement

The NFA was a firearms control law passed in 1996 in response to the Port Arthur massacre. The purpose of the NFA was to place tighter control on semi-automatic weapons. The NFA was agreed upon by all the State and Territory governments as well as the Federal government that saw a uniform approach towards Australian gun regulations. Some aspects of the NFA saw a ban on certain semiautomatic and self-loading weapons as well as stricter criteria on the standard licensing and permit of firearms. Firearms licence applicants were required to show a ‘genuine reason’ for owning a firearm, which could not include self-defence.

The Current Bill

According to the New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair, the technical updates introduced in the Bill do not change Australia’s approach to firearms regulation. Instead, the update to the NFA would:

“…streamline the NFA so it is easier to follow; add an opening statement setting out the purpose of the agreement and firearms regulation more broadly; incorporate the 2002 national handgun agreement and other ministerial decisions so the NFA is now the single reference point for firearms regulation; and make machinery changes to its wording and structure. This bill updates the laws in New South Wales to reflect the new NFA and make other related changes.”

The Bill also addresses the importing of a certain brand of level-action shotgun. The Bill will recategorise these guns from category A to category B (for up to 5 round capacity) or category D (for more than 5 round capacity). The bill provides for a transition period of three months so that the NSW Police Force can implement the changes.

Mr Blair stressed that these updates are important as they ensure that NSW

“accords to a nationally harmonised approach to firearms, and that the firearms regime is responsive to the needs of shooters and the broader community while maintaining public safety.”

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Sources:

Firearms and Weapons Legislation Amendment Bill 2017, Bill, Explanatory Notes and Second Reading Speech as Published on LawOne

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