Issue link: http://ssaansw.uberflip.com/i/1320628
36 A: The Firearms Registry will state that you must submit any Internal Review submissions to them within 28 days of receiving their decision to refuse your application, yet they can take many months to finalise that review. If you call or write to the Registry to see how much longer it will take, the general reply is that it is in their bundle to review and will be done as soon as possible. However, if you have not been notified of the outcome of your review within 21 days, the Internal Review is taken to be finalised under Section 53(9)(b) of the Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997. If the decision is one where you have a right to seek a review by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, you may then proceed to make that application if you wish. The Firearms Registry will continue to process your Internal Review request, even though it is taken to be finalised, until you make an application to the Tribunal. The choice you then have is whether you wish to remain patient and simply await the Firearms Registry to finalise the Internal Review, or make an application to the Tribunal once 21 days have elapsed. The current filing fee in the Tribunal is $106. In my experience, the Firearms Registry will still continue to process your Internal Review request even if you do file an application in the Tribunal. The one difficulty with filing an application in the Tribunal before the result of the Internal Review is known, is that you may go to the expense of filing an application, along with any legal expenses if you choose to have a Solicitor do it for you, only to find your Internal Review is successful and the Tribunal proceedings no longer need to proceed. Any filing and/or legal costs expended are not able to be recovered from the Commissioner of Police. The positive side of filing in the Tribunal is, from my experience it appears to speed up the Internal Review process. So, if you have filed an application in the Tribunal and your Internal Review is unsuccessful, your proceedings in the Tribunal are already underway and there is no further delay. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED LEGAL ADVICE. Should you require legal advice relevant to a particular matter concerning you, it is always advisable to contact a lawyer. Mainstone Lawyers are able to provide legal advice regarding all rearms and other Police related matters. Contact our office on (02) 9531 0322, Email info@mainstonelawyers.com.au or on our website mainstonelawyers.com.au Q: The Firearms Registry refused my application for a licence. I wrote to them asking for an Internal Review. It has now been 4 months and I haven't received any reply. Is there anything further I can do? Ask Stephen Q&A with Stephen MainStone