Aussie gun laws

[shooterdownunder]

A few people have messaged me asking what the gun laws are like here down under so I thought I'd put together a quick guide for you all.

In Australia firearms legislation is technically the responsibility of the state governments, however in 1996 the federal government pressured the states into adopting the national firearms agreement which means the broadly the laws are the same between states with some minor differences. This will cover the laws of my state which is New South Wales.

Firearms are broken down into five main groups:

Category A includes non self loading rimfire rifles air rifles and shotguns (except pump.
Category B includes non self loading centrefire rifles.
Category H includes all pistols.
Category C includes semi automatic rimfire rifles, shotguns and pump action shotguns. These are generally restricted to primary producers. Semi automatic shotguns may also be owned by some clay target shooters if the suffer from medical conditions or if they were grandfathered in.
Category D includes self loading centrefire rifles. These are restricted to professional shooters carrying out vertebrate pest control and government agencies.

Whilst not technically a category, full automatic firearms, flamethrowers, motars explosives etc are considered category R and are restricted to government only.

There is also category G which is for collectors. I'll go into this later.

Rifles: To be considered a rifle, a firearm must be at least 175mm long. Folding and telescopic stocks are illegal. Additionally, regardless of the actual means of operation, if a firearm resembles a semi or full auto it is still considered illegal. Also if it is capable of using parts from a category D firearm, it's illegal.

Pistols: Pistols must have a barrel length of at least 100mm for revolvers and 120mm for semi automatics. They are also limited to a maximum overall length of 165mm or else they are considered to be a rifle. They are generally limited to .38 although if you take part in cowboy action or metallic silhouette, you may use up to .45. magazines are restricted to 10 rounds.

Shotguns: Non self loading shotguns are treated the same as rifles except for pump actions which are specifically banned.


Apart from normal shooters licenses we also have what is called a collectors license which is one of many oddities in our firearms laws. A collector is permitted to own firearms normally considered illegal to others. They may own semi automatic rimfire rifles as long as the have a trigger lock and can own any pistol regardless of barrel length, calibre or magazine capacity (although they have to wait a year to own a post 1945 pistol) They may own category D firearms as long as they are permanently disabled. The catch is they are not permitted own own ammunition unless they have an ammunition collectors permit or a normal shooters license. They are also only allowed to fire them at approved events. Other than that they may own fully functional “illegal” weapons.

Odd laws:
The cosmetic clause. Anything that looks like an illegal weapon is. This includes non firing replicas.
The probationary pistol license. In the first 6 months of having a pistol license you may only hire a gun from the club and not own your own. In the second 6 months you may own 1 or 2 rimfire pistols or 1 or 2 centrefire pistols. But you may not own 1 of each until you receive your full license.
Airsoft and Paintball. Paintball markers are considered to be a firearm and require a permit to own. Airsoft is just plain illegal.
The trustworthy cowboy. For some reason cowboy action and metallic silhouette shooters are considered more trustworthy to be able to use .45s.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Any questions don't hesitate to ask.

[K_Mac]

Thanks for the interesting post. Your laws are exactly what some in our country would have here. They address firearms as if they are the problem, as clearly shown by the cosmetic law IMO. They also seem to favor those with the means to "collect" or compete as if they are somehow more worthy than the rest of you. What always baffles and frightens me when I see this sort of information or hear your politicians brag about how successful they have been in limiting firearms, is how you can get to this point coming from the rugged individualism of your forefathers.

[Beretta686]

Thanks for the write up.

It's always fascinating to me to see how firearms are regulated elsewhere. When I'm overseas, I'll often walk into gunstores and see what they have for sale. India they had all kinds of revolvers and double barrel shotguns I've never seen. In Argentina, they had Glock 25s. In Canada they had mostly sporting guns, with a few token ARs.

The one thing I've often seen on other countries (as you mentioned as Category G) is that they'll often carve out a niche for collectors to own unusual weaponry for whatever reason. Too bad we just have a C&R FFL, which just allows you to acquire them, not own anything different.

I've always wished there actually was a "Class III License" that non-NFA people keep thinking exists, that you could get which would allow you to own virtually any weapon you wanted as long as it was registered and secured. Instead of the antiquated silliness of the current NFA process, which takes months.