Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Firearms Act 1996 - SECT 10

Reasons for applying for longarm licence, category A or B

10. Reasons for applying for longarm licence, category A or B



(1) The Chief Commissioner must not issue a longarm licence for category A or
B longarms unless the applicant can demonstrate that the licence is required
for one or more of the following reasons-

   (a)  for sport or target shooting;

   (b)  for hunting;

   (c)  for primary production;

   (d)  for the occupation of security guard or prison guard;

   (e)  for an official, commercial or prescribed purpose or for a purpose
        authorised by an Act or regulations.

(2) For the purpose of demonstrating that the licence is required for-

   (a)  sport or target shooting-

   (i)  the applicant must be a member of a shooting club or shooting
        organisation which is approved by the Chief Commissioner; and

   (ii) the applicant must engage in sport or target shooting only at a place
        which is authorised by or under this Act as a place at which sport or
        target shooting using category A or B longarms may take place;

   (b)  hunting, the applicant must-

   (i)  produce written evidence that the applicant owns, occupies or manages
        the land on which he or she intends to hunt; or

   (ia) the applicant must be a member of a shooting club or shooting
        organisation which is approved by the Chief Commissioner; or

   (ii) produce written evidence from the owner or manager of any privately
        owned land on which he or she intends to hunt that he or she may be
        permitted from time to time to use that land for the purposes of
        hunting; or

   (iii) if the applicant is the holder of a game licence issued under the
        Wildlife Act 1975, produce the licence; or

   (iv) produce written evidence that he or she is from time to time formally
        employed, engaged or contracted to shoot pest animals or take game; or

   (v)  produce written permission to hunt pest animals on Crown land, from
        the Secretary to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment
        or from any person nominated by the Secretary to give that permission;

   (c)  primary production, the applicant must produce evidence that he or she
        is regularly engaged in the business of primary production as an
        owner, lessee or manager of land used for the primary production or is
        a person employed for the purposes of such a business;

   (d)  the occupation of security or prison guard, the applicant must-

   (i)  hold a licence under the Private Security Act 2004 that authorises him
        or her to perform armed guard activities or cash-in-transit activities
        or be a prison officer, a contractor or a sub-contractor within the
        meaning of the Corrections Act 1986 or an employee of such a
        contractor or sub-contractor; and

   (ii) produce evidence that the applicant has a genuine need for the licence
        because the duties he or she performs as a security guard, prison
        officer, contractor, sub-contractor or employee are such as to require
        the carriage or use of a category A or B longarm;

   (e)  for a purpose specified in subsection (1)(e), the applicant must
        produce evidence that the licence is required for that purpose.

(3) The Chief Commissioner may approve any shooting club or shooting
organisation for the purposes of subsection (2).

(4) A non-prohibited person who has made an application to the Chief
Commissioner for an approval under subsection (3) may apply to the Committee
for a review of a decision of the Chief Commissioner not to grant the approval
or for a review of a failure of the Chief Commissioner to make the decision
within a reasonable time.

(5) The Chief Commissioner may-

   (a)  impose conditions on any approval under subsection (3); and

   (b)  after notifying the holder of the approval, alter any such condition.