FIREARMS ACT 2015 - SECT 4
FIREARMS ACT 2015 - SECT 4
(1) In this Act,
unless the contrary intention appears—
"accredited paint-ball employee" means a person accredited in accordance with
the regulations to possess or use a paint-ball firearm on the
grounds of a recognised paint-ball operator in the ordinary course of
paint-ball shooting operations on the grounds as an employee of the operator;
"acquire" means acquire through purchase, gift, loan or hire;
"air gun"—see section 5;
"ammunition" means ammunition suitable for use in a firearm, and
includes—
(a) an
article consisting of a cartridge case fitted with a live primer and a
projectile; and
(b) an
article consisting of a cartridge case fitted with a live primer and
containing a propelling charge and a projectile; and
(c) live
primers, propellants and blank cartridges; and
(d) an
article of a kind declared by the regulations to be ammunition,
but does not include—
(e)
inert blank cartridges; or
(f)
inert drill rounds; or
(g) snap
caps or other item designed to fit in the breech or chamber for the purpose of
preventing damage to the firing pin; or
(h)
paint-balls; or
(i)
an article of a kind declared by the regulations not to
be ammunition;
"antique firearm"—see section 5;
"arms fair" means an event involving the temporary display of firearms,
firearms parts or ammunition for the purposes of sale or exhibition and to
which the general public has access;
"Australian citizen" means an Australian citizen within the meaning of the
Australian Citizenship Act 2007 of the Commonwealth;
"automatic firearm"—see section 5;
"cartridge case" means a container made of brass, plastic or other material
that is designed to contain propellant, house a primer at the rear, hold 1 or
more projectiles at the front and function as a gas seal during firing;
"category A, category B, category C, category D, category H firearms
—see section 5;
"code of practice" means a code of practice for the security, storage or
transport of firearms and ammunition under Part 6;
"collectors' club" means a recognised firearms club that—
(a) is
established to foster the interests of persons who collect, or collect and
display, firearms; and
(b) does
not include as part of its regular activities the shooting of firearms;
"commercial range operator" means a person who carries on the business of
providing—
(a) a
shooting range (not being a shooting gallery) for use by members of the
public; and
(b)
firearms for use by members of the public at the range;
"company" includes a body corporate;
"company's principal nominee"—see section 16;
"company's secondary nominee"—see section 16;
"contravention" includes failure to comply;
"criminal intelligence" means information relating to actual or suspected
criminal activity (whether in South Australia or elsewhere) the disclosure of
which could reasonably be expected to prejudice criminal investigations, to
enable the discovery of the existence or identity of a confidential source of
information relevant to law enforcement or to endanger a person's life or
physical safety;
"criminal organisation" has the same meaning as in Part 3B Division 2 of the
Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 ;
"dealer" means a person—
(a) who
carries on the business of purchasing, selling or hiring out firearms,
firearm parts or ammunition; or
(b) who
carries on the business of a pawnbroker or auctioneer and handles firearms,
firearm parts or ammunition in the course of that business; or
(c) who
carries on the business of repairing, modifying or testing firearms or
firearm parts; or
(d) who
carries on the business of holding or storing firearms or firearm parts for
the purpose of repair, safekeeping or disposal;
"director" of a company includes a person occupying or acting in the position
of a director or member of the governing body of the company, by whatever name
called and whether or not validly appointed to occupy or duly authorised to
act in the position, and includes any person in accordance with whose
directions or instructions the directors or members of the governing body are
accustomed to act;
"domestic partner" means a person who is a domestic partner within the meaning
of the Family Relationships Act 1975 , whether declared as such under
that Act or not;
"firearm" means—
(a) a
device designed to fire bullets, shot or other projectiles by means of burning
propellant or by means of compressed air or other compressed gas; or
(b) a
device of a kind declared by the regulations to be a firearm,
and includes a receiver of a firearm and any device or devices which (whether
or not rendered temporarily or permanently unusable) would, if in working
order, or if assembled and in working order, be a firearm within the meaning
of this definition but does not include—
(c) an
antique firearm; or
(d) a
device of a kind declared by the regulations not to be a firearm;
"firearm part" means a barrel, firing mechanism, magazine, cylinder, hammer,
bolt, breech block or slide designed as, or reasonably capable of forming,
part of a firearm;
"firearm refurbishment permit" means a permit issued under the regulations
authorising a person who carries on the business of refurbishing firearms to
possess firearms for the purpose of that business;
"firearms club" means a club for the benefit of enthusiasts who are interested
in firearms generally or in a particular category of firearm;
"firearms licence" means a firearms licence in force under Part 2;
"firearms prohibition order" means an order in force under Part 8
(including an interim firearms prohibition order);
"firing mechanism" of a firearm means the mechanism of the firearm that is
designed for the purpose of firing the firearm and includes a trigger
mechanism or firing pin;
"fit and proper person"—see section 7;
"foreign firearms dealer" means a person who is authorised, under legislation
of a jurisdiction outside this State, to carry on the business of a dealer by
an instrument that is, in the opinion of the Registrar, equivalent to a
licence authorising a person to carry on the business of a dealer under this
Act;
"foreign firearms dealer permit" means a permit issued under the regulations
authorising the display, purchase, sale or use of firearms, firearm parts or
ammunition by a foreign firearms dealer at an arms fair;
"foreign restraining order" means a foreign intervention order within the
meaning of the Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009 or a
foreign restraining order within the meaning of the Summary Procedure
Act 1921 ;
"foreign theatrical armourer" means a person whose usual place of residence is
in another jurisdiction who is authorised to possess or use a firearm for the
purpose of film, television or theatre production under the law of his or her
usual place of residence;
"foreign theatrical armourer permit" means a permit issued under the
regulations authorising a foreign theatrical armourer to possess or use a
firearm for the purpose of film, television or theatre production in South
Australia;
"gift" includes the transfer of ownership of a firearm to a beneficiary of a
deceased estate in the distribution of the estate;
"grounds of a recognised firearms club" means grounds provided or arranged to
be provided by or on behalf of a recognised firearms club for use by members
of the club;
"grounds of a recognised paint-ball operator" means grounds provided or
arranged to be provided by or on behalf of a recognised paint-ball operator
for use by participants in an organised activity involving the use of
paint-ball firearms;
"handgun"—see section 5;
"identifying mark" of a firearm—see section 29;
"interim firearms prohibition order"—see section 43;
"international visitor firearms permit" means a permit issued under the
regulations to authorise a person who is visiting, or who intends visiting,
Australia—
(a) to
possess and use a firearm for the purpose of competitive shooting or hunting;
or
(b) to
possess and use a firearm for the purpose of providing personal security
services for a foreign dignitary or official; or
(c) to
possess and use a firearm for a purpose prescribed by the regulations;
"licence" means a firearms licence;
"licensed dealer" means the holder of a licence authorising the person to
carry on the business of a dealer under this Act, or the holder of a licence
under corresponding legislation of another State or Territory of the
Commonwealth to carry on the business of a dealer;
"licensee" means the holder of a firearms licence;
"loading mechanism" of a firearm means all the parts of the firearm (except
the barrel) that are designed to place or hold or to place and hold a round in
position for firing, and includes the magazine of the firearm (if any);
"loan", in relation to a firearm, includes any grant of the use of the firearm
to a person on the understanding that it will be returned (other than under a
hire agreement);
"medical practitioner" means a person registered under the Health Practitioner
Regulation National Law to practise in the medical profession (other than as a
student);
"member", of a criminal organisation, includes an associate member or
prospective member, however described;
"owner" of a firearm includes a person who has possession of a firearm in a
representative capacity while authorised under an Act or law to manage the
estate or property of another who has died, lacks legal capacity, is unable to
manage his or her affairs or is insolvent;
"paint-ball" means a projectile primarily containing dye, paint or other
marking substance designed to mark a person or object;
"paint-ball firearm"—see section 5;
"paint-ball operator" means a person who carries on the business of providing
or arranging for the provision of grounds for use by participants in an
organised activity involving the use of paint-ball firearms (but not involving
the use of any other firearms);
"participant", in a criminal organisation, has the same meaning as in Part 3B
Division 2 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 ;
"permanent resident" means a permanent resident within the meaning of the
Australian Citizenship Act 2007 of the Commonwealth;
"possession"—see section 6;
"prescribed firearm"—see section 5;
"prohibited firearm accessory" means an item, or an item of a class,
prescribed by the regulations that may be fitted to or used in conjunction
with a firearm;
"psychologist" means a person registered under the Health Practitioner
Regulation National Law to practise in the psychology profession (other than
as a student);
"public safety notice"—see section 60;
"pump action shotgun"—see section 5;
"purchase" includes acquire by barter or exchange;
"receiver" of a firearm means the body or frame of the firearm that is
designed to hold the firing mechanism or the loading mechanism or both in
place, but does not include the stock or barrel of the firearm;
"recognised coach" means a person recognised by a shooting club as being a
fit and proper person to instruct others in the skills of using firearms;
"recognised commercial range operator" means a commercial range operator
declared to be a recognised commercial range operator under the regulations;
"recognised firearms club" means a firearms club declared to be a
recognised firearms club under the regulations;
"recognised paint-ball operator" means a paint-ball operator declared to be a
recognised paint-ball operator under the regulations;
"refurbishing" a firearm means bluing or chroming the firearm, or undertaking
other processes in relation to the firearm, to enhance its appearance or
structural integrity, but does not include repairing the firearm;
"registered" means registered under this Act;
"Registrar"—see Part 10;
"relative" of a person means the spouse, domestic partner, parent or remoter
lineal ancestor, son, daughter or remoter issue or brother or sister of the
person;
"repealed Act" means the Firearms Act 1977 repealed by this Act;
"restricted firearm mechanism" means a mechanism or other fitting—
(a) that
can be fitted to a firearm to convert it to an automatic firearm; or
(b)
that, when fitted to a suitable firearm, will enable the firearm to fire
grenades or other explosive projectiles;
"round" means an unfired complete live cartridge;
"sale" includes the disposal of a firearm by barter or exchange;
"self-loading firearm"—see section 5;
"shooting club" means a recognised firearms club that includes amongst its
regular activities the shooting of firearms;
"shooting gallery" means an indoor or outdoor gallery at which members of the
public can use shooting gallery firearms that are attached to a shooting bench
to shoot at stationary or moving targets;
"shooting gallery firearm" means—
(a) a
.177 calibre air gun; or
(b) a
handgun designed to fire shot, bullets or other projectiles by means of
compressed air or other compressed gas and not by means of burning propellant;
or
(c) a
firearm of a prescribed kind;
"sound moderator" means a device designed or adapted to be attached to, or
comprising part of, a firearm to muffle the report when the firearm is fired
and includes baffles, tubes or other parts that when fitted together would
comprise a sound moderator;
"spouse"—a person is the spouse of another if they are legally married;
"supply" means supply through sale, gift, loan or hire;
"Tribunal" means the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
established under the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
Act 2013 .
(2) For the purposes
of this Act, the capacity of a magazine that has been modified to reduce its
capacity will only be regarded as having the reduced capacity, instead of its
capacity as manufactured, if it has been modified in a manner approved by the
Registrar.