How to get your firearms license in Victoria

How to get your firearm license in Victoria

Below is a simple step by step process to getting your standard category A/B firearms licence in Victoria.

(Category A/B outlined at the bottom of the page)

New Applications

Step 1a. Genuine Reason.

There are 2 main reasons for a category A/B license in Victoria

Hunting; from recreational deer hunting to culling foxes, pigs or rabbits
Sport/Target shooting; this includes skeet/trap or rifle disciplines such as practical rifle, or just noncompetitive general use at the range.

In Victoria you can put both hunting and sport shooting onto the same license allowing you to do both (this is highly recommended as it can be a pain to add the other should you want to do it later)
Each genuine reason requires a club membership, Hunters can use clubs such as Field and Game Australia (FGA) and sporting shooters typically use the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA), although others do exist these, are the main organizations.

A photocopy of a club membership card submitted with your final application will qualify as your genuine reason.

 

Step 1b. Complete the long arms safety course
http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=34440

The firearms safety course is a multiple choice test that is carried out by Victoria police, you will be educated and tested over a couple of hours

Although these are quite regular they can be booked out for a month or two depending on how many applicants are going through at once, so be sure to book this is as soon as possible because the results last for 12 months, no harm in getting it out of the way.

 

Step 1c. Safe storage (this can be done any time up until you obtain your first firearm)

The National Firearms Act requires all firearms to be locked away in a safe storage, this means either a gunsafe or for the avid collector a strong room, simply put if a safe weighs less than 150kg it must be bolted down to a structure, drywall does not suffice it must be something like brick or wall studs using preferably expanding bolts, the more the better however we would recommend minimum 2 bolts into the wall, although 4 is better.

Step 2. Application for Firearms Licence

Now that you have a genuine reason, and have completed the safety course you can apply for your licence.
you will need; 100 points of identification, your certificate for passing the safety course and photocopies of you club memberships.
To do this, go to http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=35591 and click on the link for category A/B. Once completed you will take to any Westpac bank to pay the fee, then take your completed form to the Post Office to take a photo then submit the application to licensing. At the present time new firearms licenses can take up to 6 to 8 weeks to process.

 

 

Step 3. Purchasing a firearm

Once you have received your license you can go to your local gun store and submit a PTA or Permit To Acquire, the PTA usually takes a day or so however with your first firearm you must wait a 28 day “cooling off” period

Once the PTA comes back you can walk in and collect your firearm, some ammo and go out and enjoy our sport!

Category A
Break action shotguns (traditional double barrels)
Lever action shotguns
Bolt action shotguns

Bolt/Lever/Pump/Break action/revolver rimfire rifles

Category B
Bolt/Lever/Pump/Break Action/Revolving Centerfire rifles