Prohibited firearms, restricted items and declaration of unfitness
Prohibited firearms
Certain firearms may not be licensed at all: automatic firearms, firearms converted to fire automatically, and categories the Minister declares prohibited by notice in the Gazette. These must be surrendered to the police for destruction; they cannot be licensed for self-defence, sport or collection in the ordinary way. Special provision is made for accredited collectors and museums in limited circumstances, but the default is prohibition.
Restricted firearms and items
A restricted firearm is one that falls within the Act's specified categories - broadly, compact firearms capable of firing repeatedly without manual reloading. Because they are more concealable they are confined to narrower licensing routes (for example a restricted firearm for self-defence under section 14) and cannot simply be licensed as an occasional sport firearm. Certain items and ammunition types may be declared restricted or prohibited by the Minister; possession without the required authorisation is an offence.
Declaration of unfitness
The Registrar may declare a person unfit to possess a firearm - typically following conviction for a violent, drug-related or domestic-violence offence, or where the person is shown to be a danger. Consequences: the competency and licences fall away, firearms and the licence card must be surrendered, and the person may not possess a firearm or ammunition for the period the Act prescribes, after which application may be made to have the declaration set aside.
Traps
- Treating a semi-automatic firearm as automatic, or vice versa.
- Assuming a collector's authorisation cures a prohibition that the Act does not permit.
- Forgetting that a declaration of unfitness also invalidates existing licences, not only future applications.
Rule of thumb: prohibited means cannot be licensed; restricted means can be licensed, but only through the narrower categories.