South Australian Current Acts

FIREARMS ACT 2015 - NOTES

Legislative history

Notes

• Please note—References in the legislation to other legislation or instruments or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the program for the revision and publication of legislation and therefore may be obsolete.

• Earlier versions of this Act (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history.

• For further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.

Legislation repealed by principal Act

The Firearms Act 2015 repealed the following:

Firearms Act 1977

Legislation amended by principal Act

The Firearms Act 2015 amended the following:

Bail Act 1985

Correctional Services Act 1982

Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935

Criminal Law (High Risk Offenders) Act 2015

Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988

Cross-border Justice Act 2009

Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009

Protective Security Act 2007

Security and Investigation Industry Act 1995

Sheriff's Act 1978

Summary Offences Act 1953

Young Offenders Act 1993

Principal Act and amendments

New entries appear in bold.

Year	No	Title	Assent	Commencement
2015	46	Firearms Act 2015	17.12.2015	1.7.2017 (Gazette 27.6.2017 p2619)
2017	27	Statutes Amendment (Possession of Firearms and Prohibited Weapons) Act 2017	18.7.2017	Pt 2 (ss 4—6)—18.7.2017: s 2
2017	53	Statutes Amendment (Sentencing) Act 2017	28.11.2017	Pt 12 (s 21)—30.4.2018 (Gazette 6.2.2018 p612)
2021	44	Firearms (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2021	25.11.2021	24.12.2021 (Gazette 23.12.2021 p4618)

Provisions amended

New entries appear in bold.

Entries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.

Provision	How varied	Commencement
Long title	amended under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	18.7.2017
Pt 1
s 2	omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	18.7.2017
s 5
s 5(1)	amended by 44/2021 s 4(1)—(4)	24.12.2021
Pt 2
s 12
s 12(1)	amended by 27/2017 s 4	18.7.2017
Pt 3
s 22
s 22(10)	substituted by 44/2021 s 5(1)	24.12.2021
s 22(14)	inserted by 44/2021 s 5(2)	24.12.2021
Pt 6
heading	amended by 27/2017 s 5	18.7.2017
Pt 8
s 45
s 45(16)	amended by 27/2017 s 6	18.7.2017
Pt 10
s 57
s 57(5)	amended by 53/2017 s 21(1), (2)	30.4.2018
Pt 12
s 66A	inserted by 44/2021 s 6	24.12.2021
Sch 1
Pts 1—14	omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002	18.7.2017

Transitional etc provisions associated with Act or amendments

Firearms (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2021, Sch 1

1—Transitional provisions—lever action shotguns

(1) The following provisions apply to and in respect of a person in whose name a category B lever action shotgun was registered immediately before the relevant day and who was authorised to possess the shotgun under a firearms licence held by the person immediately before the relevant day:

(a) registration of the shotgun in the person's name will, subject to the Act, on and from the relevant day, be taken to be registration as a category B firearm;

(b) if the firearms licence held by the person immediately before the relevant day does not authorise the person to possess a category B firearm, then the licence will, subject to the Act and any conditions of the licence, be taken to authorise possession of the category B lever action shotgun for the purpose for which it was authorised under the person's licence immediately before the relevant day but only for such time as the licence (or any renewal of the licence) is in force under the Act.

(2) The following provisions apply to and in respect of a person in whose name a category D lever action shotgun was registered immediately before the relevant day and who was authorised to possess the shotgun under a firearms licence held by the person immediately before the relevant day:

(a) the registration of the shotgun in the person's name will, subject to the Act, on and from the relevant day, be taken to be registration as a category D firearm;

(b) if the firearms licence held by the person authorises the person to possess a category D firearm for the purpose for which the category D lever action shotgun was authorised immediately before the relevant day, the licence will, subject to the Act and any conditions of the licence, be taken to authorise possession of the category D lever action shotgun for that purpose but only for such time as the licence (or any renewal of the licence) is in force under the Act;

(c) for the purposes of paragraph (b)—

(i) in the case of a person who holds a category 7 (contract shooter) licence immediately before the relevant day that authorises the person to possess a category D firearm, regulation 20(3) of the Regulations does not apply in respect of the category D lever action shotgun; and

(ii) in the case of a person who holds a category 10 (collector) licence immediately before the relevant day that authorises the person to possess a category D firearm, regulation 23(3) of the Regulations applies in respect of the category D lever action shotgun;

(d) if the firearms licence held by the person does not authorise the possession of a category D firearm, or the possession of a category D firearm for the purpose for which the lever action shotgun was authorised immediately before the relevant day, then the person will, subject to the Act and any conditions of the licence, be taken to be the holder of a category 12 (miscellaneous) licence that authorises possession of the specified category D lever action shotgun for the purpose for which it was authorised under the person's licence immediately before the relevant day;

(e) regulation 25(11) of the Regulations does not apply in respect of a category 12 (miscellaneous) licence held by a person by virtue of the operation of paragraph (d).

(3) To avoid doubt—

(a) a person only has the benefit of the transitional arrangements under this clause in respect of a particular lever action shotgun registered in the name of the person immediately before the commencement of this clause and only while the lever action shotgun remains registered in the name of the person; and

(b) a person loses the benefit of the transitional arrangements under this clause in respect of that lever action shotgun if its ownership is transferred to another person or it is lost, stolen or destroyed.

(4) A permit to acquire a firearm in force before the relevant day that authorises a person to acquire a lever action shotgun does not authorise the person to acquire a lever action shotgun on or after the relevant day (and may be cancelled by the Registrar under section 24 of the Act) unless the person is the holder of—

(a) in the case of the acquisition of a category B lever action shotgun—a licence that authorises the person (subject to the Act and conditions of the licence) to possess a category B firearm for the purpose for which the shotgun is being acquired; or

(b) in the case of the acquisition of a category D lever action shotgun—a licence that authorises the person (subject to the Act and conditions of the licence) to possess a category D firearm for the purpose for which the shotgun is being acquired.

Note—

It is a condition of a category 7 (contract shooter) licence under regulation 20(3) and a category 12 (miscellaneous) licence under regulation 25(11) of the Regulations that authorise possession of a category D firearm that the licensee must have a special need for the firearm that cannot be met by a firearm of any other category and so may not authorise the possession of the category D lever action shotgun (and thus its acquisition under the permit).

(5) The Registrar may, at the discretion of the Registrar—

(a) require a person to provide to the Registrar a specified certificate of registration or firearms licence in order for the certificate or licence to be updated in accordance with the operation of this clause; and

(b) issue (or re-issue) a certificate of registration to a person in whose name a lever action shotgun is registered to reflect the change in category of firearm effected by the amendments to the Act by this Act; and

(c) issue (or re-issue) a firearms licence held by the person so that the endorsement on the licence reflects the fact that a person is taken to be authorised to possess a specified lever action shotgun, or possess the lever action shotgun for a specified purpose, in accordance with the provisions of this clause; and

(d) issue a category 12 (miscellaneous) licence to a person who is taken to hold the licence under this clause that specifies the category D lever action shotgun in respect of which it is issued.

(6) Fees that would otherwise be payable in respect of the registration or variation of registration of a firearm, or the granting or variation of a firearms licence, for the purposes of this clause are not payable by a person who has the benefit of any transitional arrangements under this clause.

(7) In this clause, unless the contrary intention appears—

Act means the Firearms Act 2015;

category B lever action shotgun means a lever action shotgun with a magazine capacity of 5 rounds or less;

category D lever action shotgun means a lever action shotgun with a magazine capacity of more than 5 rounds;

Registrar means the Registrar of Firearms under the Act;

Regulations means the Firearms Regulations 2017;

relevant day means the day on which this clause comes into operation.

Historical versions

18.7.2017
30.4.2018