Competency certificates, licence applications, renewal and refusal/appeal procedures
Competency certificates
The gateway requirement
No licence may be issued to an individual unless he or she holds a competency certificate for the relevant category. Section 9 recognises four classes: competency to possess a firearm, to trade in firearms, to manufacture firearms, and to conduct business as a gunsmith. A possession competency does not authorise dealing, manufacturing or gunsmithing.
Requirements to master
- Age: at least 21 years, with the Act permitting 18 years in specified circumstances such as hunting and sports shooting.
- Being fit and proper: of stable mental condition, not dependent on intoxicating substances, no relevant convictions, not declared unfit to possess a firearm.
- Completion of the prescribed training and a proficiency test with a training provider accredited for that category.
- Knowledge of the Act, and the criminal-record, reference and background checks the police conduct.
Traps
- Assuming a proficiency or training certificate is a competency certificate: training is only one requirement.
- Assuming competency is permanent. It has a limited validity and must be renewed; a lapsed competency blocks a licence application or renewal, and possessing a firearm whose licence has lapsed becomes unlawful possession.
- Ignoring a single relevant conviction (assault, drugs, domestic violence) - fitness and properness is a discretionary judgement and questions often hinge on it.
Rule of thumb
Trace the chain: accredited training → proficiency → competency certificate → licence. If any link is missing or expired at the date of the decision, the licence cannot lawfully be issued or renewed.
Worked example
An applicant holds a valid training certificate but was convicted of assault three years ago and did not disclose it. The deficiency is not the training - it is fitness and properness plus the false declaration, which can itself ground a refusal and a declaration of unfitness.
Licence applications, renewal, refusal and appeal
The application
The application is made on the prescribed form to the Registrar through the Designated Firearms Officer at the police station serving the applicant's area. Supporting material typically includes the competency certificate, identity document, proof of residence, photographs, a motivation showing need, details of the safe and, in practice, a safe inspection by the DFO. The Registrar must consider and decide the application within the period set by the Act; a decision is communicated in writing, with reasons where refused.
Validity and renewal
Licences are time-bound: self-defence licences run for 5 years, while occasional and dedicated hunting and sports shooting licences run for 10 years. Renewal must be applied for at least 90 days before expiry. If the licence lapses, possession becomes unlawful and the firearm must be surrendered or disposed of lawfully.
Refusal and appeal
Grounds for refusal include lack of competency, failure of fitness and properness, insufficient need, non-compliant storage and false information. The applicant must use the remedies the Act provides - an appeal against the Registrar's decision (with the appeal body and time limits prescribed) - and may thereafter approach the High Court for review. Do not conflate the two routes, and note that an appeal does not automatically entitle you to keep possessing the firearm.
Traps
- Renewal dates: candidates count forward from expiry instead of backward.
- Assuming a late renewal keeps the firearm lawfully held.
- Believing that a refusal can be ignored because 'the competency is still valid'.
Worked example
A licence expires on 1 October. Ninety days earlier is 3 July, so the renewal application must be lodged on or before 3 July. Lodging it on 15 September is late, and a query about lawful possession after 1 October should be answered: possession after expiry is unlawful unless the Act's transitional protection applies.