August 23, 2024
State Parliament has passed new laws restricting high-risk individuals from accessing firearms.
Police have been empowered to carry out searches of high-risk individuals, their vehicles and residences to ensure compliance with a Firearm Prohibition Order (FPO).
An FPO prohibits an individual subject to the order from possessing, using, or acquiring a firearm or firearm-related item.
Examples of high-risk individuals include terrorists, organised crime participants and high-risk domestic and family violence perpetrators.
The new laws also introduce a new verification process for buying small arms ammunition.
Sellers will be required to engage in a new verification process to ensure a buyer of small arms ammunition possesses a valid licence or authority to purchase the ammunition.
“The only people who will be impacted by these reforms are those who pose a danger to the community,” Police Minister Mark Ryan said.
“Law-abiding weapons licence holders will not be impacted in any way.
“These reforms are focussed on those people who don’t possess a weapons licence and are manifestly unfit to have such a licence.
“The government makes no excuses for focussing on those people who wish to cause harm in the community.”
