Weapons Act 1990

An authorised officer must decide an application for a licence (other than renewal of a licence) as soon as practicable after the end of the period prescribed for this section under a regulation.

However, the authorised officer may decide the application within the prescribed period if the applicant is the holder of an existing licence of another class.

In deciding the application, the authorised officer may consider anything at the officer’s disposal.

The authorised officer must—

approve the application and issue the licence subject to any conditions the authorised officer may decide, including, but not limited to—

conditions limiting the use or possession of a weapon; or

conditions prescribed under a regulation and applying to the weapon; or

for a licence authorising possession of a category M crossbow—conditions requiring the licensee within 7 days to permanently mark on the crossbow an identifying serial number fixed by the authorised officer for the crossbow; or

any other conditions the authorised officer considers appropriate in the particular circumstances; or

reject the application.

However, if the authorised officer is acting on the basis of criminal intelligence or other information of the kind mentioned in section 10B(1)(f) or 10C(1)(c), the authorised officer may reject the application because the person is not a fit and proper person only if the commissioner or deputy commissioner, acting personally, approves that the application be rejected on that basis.

A person whose application is rejected because the person is not a fit and proper person to hold a licence is not entitled to reapply for a licence—

if the person’s application was rejected because the person was not a fit and proper person under section 10B(3), (4) or (5)—until the day the section stops having the effect that the person is not a fit and proper person under that subsection; or

otherwise—until the day 3 years after the day the application was rejected.