The NSW Firearms Registry is now accepting applications for permits to acquire firearms (PTAs) after making adjustments to the system to reflect new ownership limits that will come into force with the Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025.
Despite the fact that new limits are not currently applicable, and won’t be until the laws are proclaimed at an unknown date in the future, the Registry says “the Act does place immediate restrictions on applications” for PTAs.
Therefore the Registry is not approving PTA applications from anyone who already has more firearms than will be permitted in the future (see below for details of the limits).
Furthermore, it says anyone who does apply while already owning too many firearms will automatically forfeit their application fees of $30 and the application will be “taken to have never been made”.
The registry warns that processing times “will be longer than usual”.
For now, owning more firearms than will be allowed in the future only means a shooter will not be granted any additional PTAs.
A police statement says: “There is no immediate seizure of firearms for those currently above the new limits. Further information will be provided regarding compliance and the buyback scheme before the new limits take effect.”
Some people will be permitted up to 10 firearms, others only four, while dealers and collectors will have no limits applied.
Genuine reasons to which a limit of 10 guns will apply are:
- Primary production
- Occupational requirements related to rural purposes
- Animal welfare
- Sport/target shooting
- Business or employment
- Vertebrate pest animal control.
Others, such as recreational hunting, will have the four-gun limit applied.
Shooters with more than one genuine reason will be limited by whichever reason has the larger cap, but the overall limit of 10 applies no matter how many genuine reasons are held.
There will be scope for individuals to apply for increased limits but how this will be dealt with won’t be revealed until the regulations have been written in the future.
Further information is available on the NSW Firearms Registry website.
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