aussie gun laws

[jballs918]

well guys as alot of you know in the air force. i may have a chance to go down under for a few years. i have a question for you. what is legal in the land down under. just give me a general idea so i can see what im up against.

jason

[Scrounger]

There's lots of kangaroos and sheep and CarpetMan swears he's going to get down there some day. Enjoy your trip, I always wanted to go there. (Not for the same reason Ray wants to go...)

[Ron]

There is near enough to uniform gun laws in all Aus states and Territories. I don't own long guns so can't comment on that aspect. Re hand guns, there is no way known that you will be allowed to posses one for "personal protection". You can't get a "carry licence". The ONLY way you will get a licence for a handgun is to 1. Join a target shooting club. 2. Qualify at a safe handling/holster course run by the club you have joined. 3. After 12 months membership of the club you can then aply for "a permit to purchase a handgun". After taking possession of your gun you then must attend a certain number of club shoots to retain it. In Victoria the number is 10 per year. We shoot ICORE, IPSC and Police Service matches in competition. There is also the Olympic standard clubs available.

A handgun licence entails a full State and Federal police check. Also a signed notice of no objection from your spouce/relative. Cost for the licence in Vic. is $90.00 for three years. On receiving your permit to purchase you go to the bank, pay about $40.00 then take it to the gun dealer to pick up the gun. All gun transfers take place at a firearms dealers premises. No private sale of any kind. You can only buy a handgun of up to 38 cal unless you have a special reason for owning a larger cal such as metallic plate shooring.

The system is a real PITA but if you are keen on your sport then you go along with it. Don't forget that we do not have a Second Ammendment to fall back on. Our firearms licences are a privilege not a right.

Breaches of the Firearms Act usually carry heavy prison and monetory fines.

I don't hunt but I have mates who do. There is some good pig and buffalo hunting in a couple of states. Roos in Vic are only culled with a licences and only for a specific number. A couple of years ago, an Army base here in Vic had a huge problem with Roos. A proffesional hunter was licensed to cull them. Reports were that 30,000 roos depart this earth as a result. The Northern Territory has the larges population of one humped camels in the world but I don't know what the situation is regarding hunting them. Wild goat is an other option and they are fairly well spread as are deer in most states.

Where ever you are going, give the Australian Sporting Shooters Association a ring and they will be able to put you onto a club in your vicinity. Being in the Air Force then you will probably be going to a RAAF base. There is a RAAF Pistol Club. If you are posted to Melbourne, get in contact with me and I can introduce uou to some clubs

[jballs918]

i was looking into going to learmonth city, by exmouth bay up in the northwest corner. so im wondering if i can even bring one into the country. maybe i will go with option number 2 my bow

[Ron]

You can bring firearms into Aus but before you do you would need import approval from Aus Customs. What the exact requirements are I am not sure. Why not contact your nearest Aus Embassy and get them to find out for you.

[longbow]

Check with 4fingermick - he should be able to let you know what is legal and not.

[grumpy one]

Unless things have changed in the past 35 years since I was last into pistol shooting, you may find it inconvenient to bring a handgun here. You can't take possession of it until you can get a permit, which requires that you've been a member in good standing of a target pistol club for a year. That means the pistol would have to be lodged with a licensed gun dealer for that year, and there may not be one very close to Exmouth (in that part of the world, 500 miles or so is pretty close).

If you were going to be located at Learmonth that is close to the navy base at Northwest Cape. Even though that is now a joint facility with the Australian navy, there may be special arrangements on the base. That may mean you can ship your pistols directly to the base and keep them there. They may have a range on-site too. You wouldn't be able to hunt, or take a handgun off the base, of course (unless they've got a sweetheart deal with the local police at Exmouth, which wouldn't surprise me - US servicemen are pretty well regarded here, especially near remote bases like that).

I'd suggest you start off by talking to the air force rather than the Australian embassy. This is a problem they'll deal with every day for some part of the world.