POLICE —
FIREARMS LICENSING — RENEWAL
1308. Hon RICK MAZZA to the minister representing the
Minister for Police:
I refer to section 9A(5) of the
Firearms Act 1973, which states —
Where a licence is renewed � within 3
months after, its expiry, it is deemed to have been renewed immediately after
its expiry �
This clause, referred to as the ''grace
period'', is not particularly well known among firearms holders. A
firearm renewal fee is $55 and the penalty for not paying within the grace
period is an additional $421.
(1) Can the minister please advise
whether she is aware that —
(a) a number of firearms licence holders have
presented to Australia Post to renew licences that fall well within this grace
period and have been told that it is not possible to renew an overdue licence;
(b) Australia
Post personnel are informing licence holders that their only option is to wait
for another reminder that will include an additional fine; and
(c) a number of
firearms owners who have followed the advice have received a demand to
surrender their firearms due to the grace period being exceeded?
(2) Can the
minister advise —
(a) how many
firearms owners have been penalised by this incorrect advice that is being
provided by Australia Post; and
(b) whether
they will be reimbursed due to the erroneous information provided by Australia
Post?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON
replied:
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the
question. This information has been provided to me by the Minister for Police.
The Western Australia Police Force advises the following.
(1)–(2)
The Western Australia Police Force firearms
licensing service has received a small number of inquiries on this issue over
the last 12 months. If a complaint is raised, it is dealt with by the Western Australia
Police Force firearms licensing service providing the correct advice to the
Australia Post outlet concerned. If an issue has occurred and is found to be an
error in advice provided by Australia Post, the Western Australia Police Force
advises that a licence holder may contact the firearms licensing service for
adjudication.