Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) Any person who
—
(a)
sells, delivers or disposes of; or
(b)
purchases or otherwise comes into possession of; or
(c) is
in possession of,
any firearm, major
firearm part or ammunition and is not the holder of a licence or permit under
this Act entitling the person to do so commits a crime unless subsection
(1ADA) or (1ae) or section 19AA provides otherwise or section 8 applies.
(1aa) A person who is
guilty of a crime under subsection (1) committed in circumstances referred to
in subsection (1)(a) is liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for 14 years if
at the time of the offence the person was selling 3 or more firearms or major
firearm parts without a licence or permit entitling the person to sell any of
them.
(1ab) A person who is
guilty of a crime under subsection (1) —
(a)
committed in circumstances where the person was carrying both a firearm or
major firearm part that is a subject of the offence and —
(i)
a prohibited drug or prohibited plant, as defined in the
Misuse of Drugs Act 1981 , when not authorised to be in possession of that
drug or plant under that Act; or
(ii)
an amount of money equal to or greater than the
prescribed amount,
is liable, on
conviction, to imprisonment for 14 years;
(b)
committed in circumstances where the person was in possession of 3 or more
firearms or major firearm parts without a licence or permit entitling the
person to be in possession of any of them, is liable, on conviction, to
imprisonment for 10 years unless subsection (1aa) applies.
(1ac) Unless
subsection (1aa) or (1ab) applies, a person who is guilty of a crime under
subsection (1) committed in relation to a firearm or major firearm part is
liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for 7 years if —
(a) at
the time of the offence the offender —
(i)
had been refused, or was disqualified from holding, a
licence or permit referred to in subsection (1); or
(ii)
had had a licence or permit referred to in subsection (1)
revoked,
in relation to the
firearm or a firearm of the same kind, or the firearm or a firearm of the same
kind to which the major firearm part relates; or
(b) the
firearm was a handgun or prohibited firearm; or
(ba) the
major firearm part relates to a handgun or prohibited firearm; or
(c) at
the time of the offence, any number or identification mark which was on the
firearm or major firearm part had been defaced or removed; or
(d) the
firearm or major firearm part had been altered from the design or
characteristics of its original manufacture.
Summary conviction penalty for a crime under
subsection (1) committed in any of the circumstances described in this
subsection: imprisonment for 3 years or a fine of $12 000.
(1ad) Unless
subsection (1aa), (1ab) or (1ac) applies, a person who commits a crime under
subsection (1) is liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for 5 years.
Summary conviction penalty for a crime under
subsection (1): imprisonment for 3 years or a fine of $12 000.
(1ADA) Subsection (1)
does not apply if —
(a) a
person is in possession of a firearm, major firearm part or ammunition in a
place or vehicle solely by reason of section 4A(d) or (e); and
(b) the
firearm, major firearm part or ammunition is in the lawful possession of
another person at that time.
(1ae) Subsection (1)
does not apply to coming into, or being in, possession of ammunition under
section 30(2) as the agent of a person to whom it is, or is to be, delivered
as soon as is reasonably practicable.
(1a) For the purposes
of applying the penalty provisions of subsection (1ac)(a), a firearm is of one
of the kinds prescribed for the purposes of that provision by the regulations.
(2) A person who
—
(a)
sells, delivers, or disposes of a firearm, major firearm part or ammunition to
another person, or otherwise permits another person to take possession of a
firearm, major firearm part or ammunition; or
(b)
purchases, or otherwise comes into, possession of a firearm, major firearm
part or ammunition from another person; or
(c)
permits another person to be in possession of a firearm, major firearm part or
ammunition,
commits an offence if
the other person is not the holder of a licence or permit under this Act
entitling the other person to possession of it unless it is a disposal of
ammunition under section 30(2) or section 8 applies.
Penalty for this subsection:
(a) if
the firearm concerned was a handgun or prohibited firearm, imprisonment for 5
years;
(b) if
the major firearm part concerned relates to a handgun or prohibited firearm,
imprisonment for 5 years;
(c) in
any other case, imprisonment for 3 years or a fine of $12 000.
[(3), (4) deleted]
(5) A person who
conducts, or is concerned in the conducting of, a shooting gallery otherwise
than in accordance with a licence under this Act authorising the person to do
so commits an offence.
Penalty for this subsection: a fine of $2 000.
[Section 19 amended: No. 54 of 1978 s. 2; No. 70
of 1987 s. 6; No. 59 of 1996 s. 19, 47 and 50(1); No. 50 of 2003 s. 62(2); No.
4 of 2004 s. 58; No. 69 of 2004 s. 18 and 31; No. 13 of 2022 s. 29, 65 and
66.]