Other Lawful Firearm Uses
Primary production, professional use, collecting and the firearms industry
Shooting in Australia extends beyond target shooting and recreational hunting. Firearms are also used in primary production, professional animal control and other occupational activities. They are collected for historical and other recognised purposes, while licensed businesses provide the firearms, ammunition, repairs and other services that support lawful firearm ownership and use.
These activities operate within the same state and territory firearms licensing systems that apply to recreational shooters, but often involve different genuine reasons, licence types, eligibility requirements and conditions. Some occupations and activities can also provide access to firearm categories that are not ordinarily available for recreational use where a specific need can be demonstrated.
The requirements vary between jurisdictions, but the major non-recreational uses of firearms in Australia fall into several common areas.
Primary Production
Firearms are used as working tools in primary production, particularly in farming and grazing. Primary production is specifically recognised within Australian firearms licensing systems and can provide a genuine reason or licensing purpose for eligible farmers, graziers and others engaged in primary production.
Common uses include controlling vertebrate pest animals and humanely destroying injured or suffering livestock. The precise activities permitted and the evidence required vary between jurisdictions, but applicants will generally need to demonstrate their involvement in a primary production business or their connection with land used for primary production.
Primary producers may also have access to some firearm categories that are more restricted for recreational shooters where a particular need can be demonstrated. This is not an automatic entitlement and additional eligibility tests, firearm limits or licence conditions can apply.
A firearm licence for primary production does not remove other legal obligations applying to its use. Animal welfare requirements, land-access conditions and any restrictions applying to the particular firearm or activity continue to apply.
Vertebrate Pest Animal Control / Contract Shooting
Professional vertebrate pest animal control is a distinct firearms licensing purpose in Australia and is separate from recreational hunting or ordinary vermin control.
It applies to people who use firearms as part of professional or authorised work controlling pest and feral animal populations. Depending on the jurisdiction, this can include professional contract shooters, government employees and other persons specifically authorised to undertake vertebrate pest animal control.
Because the work can involve different operational requirements from recreational shooting, professional pest controllers may be eligible to possess firearm categories and other items that are otherwise highly restricted, like semi-automatic centrefire rifles and sound suppressors, where the licensing authority is satisfied that the firearm or accessory is necessary for the work being undertaken.
Applicants are generally required to demonstrate that the activity is genuinely professional or authorised, such as through contracts, employment or government authority. The precise terminology, licence structure and eligibility requirements vary between jurisdictions.
Collecting and Historical Firearms
Firearms are also lawfully held as collections for historical, commemorative, thematic and other recognised collecting purposes. Collector licensing provides a pathway for people with a genuine interest in the history, development and preservation of firearms to acquire and maintain collections within the licensing framework.
Collector licences are generally different from licences that authorise firearms for sporting, hunting or occupational use. Depending on the jurisdiction and type of firearm, collectors may need to belong to an approved collectors organisation, demonstrate the purpose or theme of the collection, and comply with additional acquisition, storage or security requirements.
Firearms held under a collector licence are generally held for the purposes of the collection rather than ordinary recreational use. The treatment of antique, historical, temporarily inoperable and permanently inoperable firearms also varies between jurisdictions, so the licensing and registration requirements applying to a particular firearm need to be checked with the relevant firearms authority.
The Licensed Firearms Industry
Australia has a regulated firearms industry comprising licensed dealers, gunsmiths, manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and other businesses supplying firearms, ammunition and related services to lawful firearm users.
Firearms dealers operate under state and territory licensing laws. Depending on the jurisdiction and licence held, authorised activities can include acquiring and supplying firearms, conducting firearm transfers, repairing or modifying firearms, manufacturing firearms or firearm parts, and supplying ammunition.
Dealers also form an important part of the regulatory system. They verify licences and acquisition authorities, record transactions and firearm movements, and perform other functions required for firearms to move lawfully between licence holders and through the commercial supply chain.
Importation is regulated separately by the Commonwealth. The Department of Home Affairs administers controls on the importation of firearms and firearm-related articles under Commonwealth customs law, while state and territory requirements continue to apply once those products enter the domestic firearms system.
The precise licence types and permitted activities differ between jurisdictions, but businesses handling firearms commercially must operate within the licensing, record-keeping, storage and security requirements applying to their activities.
Armed Security
Firearms are used in limited areas of Australia’s private security industry, principally by appropriately licensed armed guards and personnel involved in activities such as cash-in-transit and the protection of valuable property.
Armed security is subject to additional regulation beyond ordinary firearms licensing. Individuals generally require the appropriate security industry authority as well as firearms licensing or endorsement, together with specific firearms training and evidence that carrying a firearm is required for their employment.
The firearms used for security work are subject to strict conditions governing their possession, storage, carriage and use. In some jurisdictions, firearms used by security employees are owned or registered to the employing security business rather than the individual guard.
Authority to possess or carry a firearm for security work is tied to the licensed employment being undertaken and does not provide a general entitlement to carry a firearm outside those duties.