Possession offence during renewal period
183 Possession offence during renewal period
In this section —
possession in compliant storage means possession of a firearm or related thing when it is stored in compliant storage as defined in section 301;
possession offence means an offence under Part 5 that a person commits by possessing a firearm or related thing when not authorised to do so by a firearm authority;
renewal period, for a firearm authority, means the period that begins at the end of the term of the firearm authority and ends as follows —
if an application for renewal of the firearm authority is made within 3 months after the end of the term of the firearm authority, the renewal period ends when the application for renewal is determined or otherwise disposed of or is withdrawn;
otherwise, the renewal period ends 3 months after the end of the term of the firearm authority.
Proceedings cannot be taken against a person for a possession offence in respect of a person’s possession of a firearm or related thing if that possession —
is during the renewal period for a firearm authority previously held by the person and would be authorised by that firearm authority if it were still in force; and
is possession in compliant storage.
This section does not affect the taking of proceedings for —
a possession offence in respect of a person’s possession of a firearm or related thing that is not possession in compliant storage; or
an offence in respect of the use of a firearm or related thing.
This section does not affect any power of a police officer to seize a firearm or related thing in a person’s possession if the person is not entitled to lawful possession of it (even if that possession is possession in compliant storage).
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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