GUN owners in the South East will have to meet higher standards of security for the privilege of owning firearms after new legislation was rolled out across the state at the start of the month.
After several years of industry consultation, on July 1 the new Firearms Act 2015 and Firearms Regulations 2017 legislation became operative in South Australia.
The new legislation aims to enhance public safety by specifically targeting criminals and reinforcing obligations on licensed firearms owners.
Gambier Shooting Supplies owner Dane Hastings welcomed the new laws, particularly those that enforce tougher security.
In the new legislation there were changes to boost the minimum standards for security, storage and transport of firearms and ammunition, which will be governed by a code of practice.
“If ever they needed to toughen laws, they needed to do it on security, because to be honest they were quite lenient,” Mr Hastings said.
“For example, we would get an insurance quote – ‘I got some guns pinched from an office locker’ – well the fact of the matter was anyone could open the locker with ease, so the laws just weren’t right.”
Police Firearms Branch officer in charge Superintendent Kym Hand said there were now appropriate minimum standards for firearms holders, but licence holders will still have time to adjust.
“We have changed the laws around security and it is a case of the higher the risk, the higher the responsibility of your security,” Supt Hand said.
“If you are an existing licence holder and you are currently storing your guns in lockers that no longer meet the standards, you are looking at a period of 12 months from when the laws commenced to transition.”
Supt Hand said “good faith” will be shown to some licence holders who already have certain commercial lockers that fall just below the new security requirements.
“The minister wanted to show good faith to people who were already doing the right thing with their standards of security,” he said.
“People with common commercially sold lockers just below the new standards will be able to keep using them if they send in a statutory declaration.”
Mr Hastings said any type of legislation to prevent guns getting stolen is a step forward in the right direction.
“If less guns get stolen, the safer the industry is and the safer the general public is,” Mr Hastings said.
“The laws have only been in affect since the start of the month so it is pretty hard to make full sense of them this quick and to see the impact they will have, but I am sure it will be a positive
one.”
The introduction of the new laws coincided with the start of a National Firearms Amnesty and a new, permanent General Firearms Amnesty in South Australia, which allows any unregistered, illegal or unwanted firearms to be surrendered to police.
Supt Hand said since the introduction of the South Australian amnesty in December 2015 around 5500 firearms have been surrendered.
“While the national amnesty will only run from July 1 to September 30, ours in South Australia will be in place forever,” Supt Hand Said.
“The system is working as it has brought to light 5500 firearms that we didn’t previously know about.”
