Issue link: http://ssaansw.uberflip.com/i/141752
Life with the Ammo Bill for Law Abiding Firearm Owners In the three months since the introduction of the Ammunition Bill there has been a great deal of debate and confusion around how this piece of legislation will help police make our streets safe from criminals with illegal guns. It is important to clarify the fact that licenced firearms owners are not authorised to sell ammunition and that the sale of ammunition may only be conducted by a licenced firearms dealer, club armourer or a person authorised by a permit to sell. SSAA NSW campaigned long and hard against these changes, along with the Shooters and Fishers Party and other groups like the Firearms Dealers Association, but so far the NSW Government has not wavered. However, we will not be swayed from a continued campaign to have this and other less than favorable aspects of the Act and its Regulations changed or removed, and hopefully our efforts combined with that of our individual members making their displeasure known to their local members will result in positive change. The Ammunition Bill does not affect the personal reloading of ammunition or reloading components so nothing has changed on this front. To give you some idea of the lunacy of these laws, the below photo shows the amount of paperwork created for a single firearms dealership in just one year as a result of these changes! For the purchase of ammunition a person needs to produce identification showing name and address, and their licence or permit authorising possession of a firearm that takes the ammunition being purchased or permit authorising the purchase of ammunition. Where the sale of ammunition is for a handgun, a firearms dealer must also sight and record the details of a current registration certificate or an issued Permit to Acquire a firearm (PTA) for the firearm issued in the name of the buyer for a firearm that takes the ammunition being purchased. Ammunition is considered to be for a pistol if: a) the ammunition is of a calibre that is generally used only in pistols, or b) the sale is to a person who is the holder of a licence or permit for a pistol (and is not the holder of a licence or permit for any other type of firearm that takes that ammunition). It is important to remember that this is law and as law abiding firearms owners we must comply. Hopefully the following information will shed a little bit of light on this for all of our members and make living with the Ammunition Bill less of a mystery. Fact sheets as well as frequently asked questions can be viewed on the NSW Police Firearms Registry website at https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/services/firearms Ammunition meets the above definition if it is pistol specific or if a category H licence or permit for a handgun is the only licence or permit held by the buyer. So if you are purchasing .357 Magnum ammo for example on a category B licence the firearms dealer will probably want to be sure that you do own a rifle in that calibre and may wish to sight rego papers. Please don't be angry with or take your frustrations out on firearms dealers as they are only doing what the laws require of them. SSAA NSW will continue to raise the huge failings of these laws with the Premier and the Police Minister both directly as your sporting Association and as a member of the NSW Firearms Consultative Committee. Mitch Newbery SSAA NSW Policy & Project Officer Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. Check out the SSAA NSW website to stay up to date with the latest news for the safe, fun and unique range of shooting sports. www.ssaansw.org.au 3