1Short title
This is the Firearms Act 2024.
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Bill homepageThis is the Firearms Act 2024.
This Act comes into operation as follows —
Part 1 — on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent (assent day);
Part 16 — on the day after assent day;
Part 17 Division 3 Subdivision 11 —
if the Criminal Law (Mental Impairment) Act 2023 section 412 comes into operation on or before assent day — when section 11(1)(d) of this Act comes into operation; or
otherwise — when the Criminal Law (Mental Impairment) Act 2023 section 412 comes into operation;
the rest of the Act — on a day fixed by proclamation, and different days may be fixed for different provisions.
This Act binds the Crown in right of Western Australia and, so far as the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.
The principles of this Act are as follows —
there is an overriding need to ensure public safety in connection with the possession and use of firearms in the community;
the possession and use of firearms is a privilege that is always conditional on the overriding need to ensure public safety;
public safety can be ensured by strict controls to secure the safe and responsible possession and use of firearms in the community.
The objects of this Act are as follows —
to improve public safety by ensuring the safe and responsible possession and use of firearms;
to specify the purposes for which a person can be authorised to possess or use a firearm;
to minimise the risk of persons becoming victims of crimes that involve the use of firearms;
to prevent persons from having access to firearms for criminal purposes;
to prevent access to firearms by persons who pose a risk of violence, family violence or intimidating behaviour;
to prevent access to firearms by persons who pose a risk of misuse of firearms;
to minimise the risk of persons causing harm, including psychological harm, to themselves or others by the misuse of firearms;
to reduce the number of firearms unlawfully possessed in the community;
to facilitate a nationally consistent approach to the control of firearms.
Persons performing functions in or in connection with the administration of this Act (including when constituting, or as a member of, a court or tribunal) must have due regard to the principles and objects of this Act.
In this Act —
acquire means acquire by sale or gift;
ammunition —
means ammunition for a firearm; and
includes the following —
anything made, modified or intended for use as ammunition for a firearm;
blank ammunition;
any other thing prescribed by the regulations;
but
does not include any of the following —
ammunition incapable of being fired, including an inert cartridge, a dummy round, and a drill round that does not contain a primer or propellant;
a prescribed paintball pellet;
any other thing prescribed by the regulations;
approval means an approval by the Commissioner under a provision of this Act;
approved means approved by the Commissioner;
approved firearms trainer means a person who is approved by the Commissioner under section 24 to provide firearms training;
authorised person, for a licence, means a person who is an authorised person for the licence as referred to in section 23(2);
calibre, of a firearm, means —
the size of the bore of the firearm; and
the name of the calibre of the ammunition for which the firearm is chambered;
category, of a firearm, has the meaning given in section 8(3);
Commissioner means the person holding or acting in the office of Commissioner of Police under the Police Act 1892;
deal in means to acquire and supply in the course of a business;
Department means the department of the Public Service principally assisting in the administration of this Act;
disqualified person has the meaning given in section 9(1);
disqualifying offence means an offence that is —
a serious offence as defined in the Criminal Investigation Act 2006 section 128(1); or
an offence under the law of another Australian jurisdiction that substantially corresponds to an offence referred to paragraph (a); or
an offence under this Act that is prescribed by the regulations as a disqualifying offence; or
an offence under the Weapons Act 1999 that is prescribed by the regulations as a disqualifying offence; or
an offence under The Criminal Code that is prescribed by the regulations as a disqualifying offence; or
an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 that is prescribed by the regulations as a disqualifying offence;
disqualifying order means an order that is —
a violence restraining order, family violence restraining order or conduct agreement order made under the Restraining Orders Act 1997; or
an order (however described) made under a corresponding law (as defined in the Restraining Orders Act 1997 section 3(1)) having an effect that is the same as or similar to the effect of an order referred to in paragraph (a); or
an order of a kind that is prescribed by the regulations as a disqualifying order;
disseminate, in relation to firearm technology, has the meaning given in section 284;
family violence has the meaning given in the Restraining Orders Act 1997 section 5A;
finding of guilt has the meaning given in section 11;
fire, in relation to a firearm, includes discharge;
firearm has the meaning given in section 6;
firearm authority means a licence, permit or approval;
firearm authority health standards means standards of mental or physical health that are prescribed by the regulations as health standards that a person must meet to be considered a fit and proper person to hold a firearm authority;
firearms prohibition order has the meaning given in section 317(1);
firearms training means training and instruction in —
the safe handling and safe use of firearms; or
the proficient use of firearms;
firearm technology has the meaning given in section 284;
give possession, of a thing to a person, includes permit the person to take possession of or be in possession of the thing;
Government entity has the meaning given in section 101;
handgun means a firearm that —
is reasonably capable of being concealed about the person; and
can be aimed and fired from 1 hand;
immediate possession has the meaning given in section 13;
information includes documents;
interim disqualified person has the meaning given in section 9(2);
licence means a licence under Part 2;
licence card has the meaning given in section 206;
licensed firearm club means the body corporate that is the licensee under a Club Licence;
licensed firearm range means a firearm range to which a Range Licence applies;
major firearm part has the meaning given in section 14(1);
member of a disqualifying organisation has the meaning given in section 10(1);
occupier, in relation to land, means a person in exclusive possession or entitled to exclusive possession of the land;
officer, in relation to a body corporate, has the meaning given in the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth) section 9;
paintball means a shooting sport in which players attempt to hit other players with paintball pellets fired from paintball guns;
paintball gun means a firearm that is made or modified to fire paintball pellets;
paintball pellet means a pellet that is —
made or modified to be fired from a firearm; and
designed to break on impact with the target at which it is fired for the purpose of marking the target with dye or a similar substance that the pellet contains;
permit means a permit under Part 3;
place has the meaning given in the Criminal Investigation Act 2006 section 3(1);
possession has the meaning given in section 12;
possession in compliant storage has the meaning given in section 183(1);
prescribed paintball gun means a paintball gun that complies with the requirements of the regulations for a prescribed paintball gun;
prescribed paintball pellet means a paintball pellet that complies with the requirements of the regulations for a prescribed paintball pellet;
prohibited accessory means any of the following —
a sound suppressor;
a device commonly known as a bump stock, being a stock that is made or modified to allow a self‑loading firearm to fire more rapidly than is possible with trigger‑finger manipulation alone;
a device commonly known as a folding stock, being a stock with a mechanism that allows the stock to be folded to reduce the overall length of a firearm;
a device commonly known as a detachable stock, being a stock that when removed from a firearm allows the firearm to remain capable of being fired;
a device, commonly known as a chassis carbine kit, that alters a firearm in such a way that the category of the firearm without the chassis carbine kit fitted is different from the category of the firearm with the chassis carbine kit fitted;
any other thing that is capable of being fitted to or used in conjunction with a firearm and that is prescribed by the regulations as a prohibited accessory;
prohibited ammunition means ammunition, or ammunition of a kind, prescribed by the regulations as prohibited ammunition;
prohibited firearm means a firearm, or a firearm of a kind, prescribed by the regulations as a prohibited firearm;
prohibited person means a person in relation to whom a firearms prohibition order is in force;
projectile means any solid or liquid projectile (including a bullet or shot) that when propelled is capable of causing personal injury;
reasonably suspects has the meaning given in the Criminal Investigation Act 2006 section 4;
related thing means the following things —
a major firearm part;
ammunition;
a prohibited accessory;
relevant management position has the meaning given in section 15;
responsible person, for a licence, means the person who is the responsible person for the licence as referred to in section 128(2);
serial number, on a firearm or major firearm part, includes any numbers, letters or symbols on the firearm or major firearm part that are for the purpose of the unique identification of the firearm or part;
sound suppressor —
means a device that is made or modified to be fitted to a firearm to reduce the loudness of the report that results from the firearm being fired; and
includes a device commonly known as a silencer;
supply —
means supply by sale or gift; and
includes offer to supply;
thing relevant to an offence has the meaning given in the Criminal Investigation Act 2006 section 5;
use a firearm has the meaning given in section 7(1);
vehicle has the meaning given in the Criminal Investigation Act 2006 section 3(1);
young person means a person who is under 18 years of age but not under 12 years of age.
A firearm is a device that is made, modified or capable of being modified to fire or propel a projectile by means of —
the burning of a propellant; or
expansion of compressed air or other compressed gas; or
any other method of propulsion that is prescribed by the regulations.
A device can be a firearm whether or not the device is —
operable or inoperable; or
assembled or in parts; or
complete or incomplete.
None of the following things is a firearm —
a firearm that by an approved means has been rendered permanently incapable of operation;
anything that is prescribed by regulations under the Weapons Act 1999 as a prohibited weapon, an edged weapon or a controlled weapon;
an industrial tool powered by cartridges that contain a propellant or by compressed air or other compressed gas and that is manufactured to fix fasteners or plugs or for similar purposes;
a device that is manufactured to fire signal flares;
a device, commonly known as a line thrower, that is manufactured to be used to establish lines between structures, natural features or vessels;
a device, commonly known as a promotional launcher, that is manufactured to be used to fire packaged promotional material among event crowds and powered by compressed air or other compressed gas;
a thing that is obviously a child’s toy and that is manufactured to fire something that is not likely to cause personal injury;
any other thing that is prescribed by the regulations.
[Section 6 amended: No. 33 of 2024 s. 30.]
A person uses a firearm when the person —
fires the firearm; or
has the firearm in their immediate possession when the firearm is loaded.
Without limiting what constitutes a firearm being loaded, a firearm is considered to be loaded when any magazine that is part of or fitted to the firearm contains ammunition.
The regulations must provide for the following categories of firearms and specify firearms that are in each category —
category A;
category B;
category C;
category D;
category E;
category H.
The regulations may provide for other categories of firearms and specify firearms that are in those other categories.
The category of a firearm is the category that the firearm is in under the regulations.
If a firearm is not in any category, the firearm is taken to have been prescribed by the regulations as a prohibited firearm unless the regulations provide otherwise.
Subsection (4) does not prevent —
a firearm that is in a category from being prescribed by the regulations as a prohibited firearm; or
all the firearms in a specified category from being prescribed by the regulations as prohibited firearms.
A person is a disqualified person —
when the person is the subject of a disqualifying order; or
during the disqualifying period prescribed by the regulations as the disqualifying period for a disqualifying order; or
when the person has been charged with a disqualifying offence and proceedings for the offence are pending against the person; or
during the period prescribed by the regulations as the disqualifying period for a disqualifying offence for which a finding of guilt has been made against the person; or
when the person is a member of a disqualifying organisation; or
during the period prescribed by the regulations as the disqualifying period for membership of a disqualifying organisation.
A person is an interim disqualified person if the person is a disqualified person solely as a result of being —
the subject of a disqualifying order that is of a temporary or interim nature only; or
a person against whom proceedings for a disqualifying offence are pending.
Proceedings for an offence cease to be pending against a person when —
a finding of guilt is made in the proceedings; or
the proceedings are concluded (including as a result of the acquittal of the person) other than as a result of a finding of guilt.
A disqualifying period for a disqualifying order or disqualifying offence can be prescribed to apply in respect of —
all disqualifying orders or disqualifying offences; or
a particular kind or particular kinds of disqualifying orders or disqualifying offences; or
disqualifying orders or disqualifying offences of a particular class or description, including (in the case of disqualifying offences) offences described by reference to the type of finding of guilt that applies in relation to the offences.
The fact that a person has ceased to be a disqualified person does not prevent the Commissioner from having regard to the conduct of the person that resulted in the person being a disqualified person in forming an opinion as to whether or not the person is a fit and proper person to hold a firearm authority.
A member of a disqualifying organisation is a person who is a member of an organisation named in the Criminal Law (Unlawful Consorting and Prohibited Insignia) Act 2021 Schedule 2.
In subsection (1) —
member, of an organisation, means a person —
who has been accepted as a member of the organisation, whether informally or through a process set by the organisation; or
who identifies in any way as belonging to the organisation; or
whose conduct in relation to the organisation would reasonably lead another person to consider the person to be a member of the organisation.
A reference to a finding of guilt in relation to an offence committed by a person is a reference to any of the following —
a court making a formal finding of guilt in relation to the offence;
a court convicting the person of the offence, if there has been no formal finding of guilt before conviction;
a court accepting a plea of guilty from the person in relation to the offence;
a finding under The Criminal Code section 27, or an equivalent provision of a law of another Australian jurisdiction, that the person is not guilty of the offence on account of mental impairment.
A finding of guilt that is subsequently quashed or set aside by a court ceases to be a finding of guilt for the purposes of this Act.
A finding of guilt in relation to an offence is a finding of guilt for the purposes of this Act even if it is —
a spent conviction as defined in the Spent Convictions Act 1988 section 3(1); or
a finding of guilt that under a law in any Australian jurisdiction a person is not required to disclose.
[Section 11 amended: No. 23 of 2024 s. 471.]
A person is in possession of a thing in any of the following circumstances —
the person has actual physical possession of it;
the person has the custody or control of it, whether directly or remotely;
the person has and exercises access to it in a place either alone or in common with others;
the person occupies, or has care, control or management of, a place where it is found;
the person is in charge of a vehicle where it is found.
A person is in possession of firearm technology in any of the circumstances provided for by subsection (1) and in the following circumstances —
the person is in possession (as provided by subsection (1)) of a computer or other data storage device on which the firearm technology is held or contained;
the person controls or accesses the firearm technology by means of a remote computer or web portal (even if the remote computer or web portal is in the control of another person or is outside the State).
A person is not in possession of a thing if —
the person is in possession of the thing solely by reason of circumstances referred to in subsection (1)(d) or (e); and
the thing is in the lawful possession of another person at the time.
If a thing is carried in parts by, or is otherwise in the possession of, 2 or more persons, each of those persons is taken to be in possession of the thing.
If a person is using a firearm under the supervision of a person (the supervisor), both the supervisor and the person using the firearm are in possession of the firearm.
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