The Legislation

Current Queensland laws require the registration of weapons and licensing of  persons in possession of them.  In an effort to ensure public and individual safety, strict controls on the possession, use and safe and responsible storage of weapons have been implemented.

Queensland weapon laws are provided in the Weapons Act 1990, the Weapons Regulations 1996 and the Weapons Categories Regulation 1997.

The links provided throughout this website will give you an insight into what is required if you want to apply for a weapons licence and your responsibilities as a weapons licence holder. The required forms can be printed and completed at your convenience. An up to date fee list is also included.

Legislation Objective

The overriding objective of the Weapons Act 1990 is to prevent the misuse of weapons. This is achieved through legislation that controls access, possession, usage and storage of weapons.

Many of the objectives of the Weapons Act 1990 were derived from resolutions made at the then Australasian Police Ministers’ Council (APMC) in 1996 following the Port Arthur tragedy.

These resolutions can be described in broad terms as seeking to implement legislation which:

• prohibits semi-automatic and military style weapons;
• puts in place a national scheme for the registration of all firearms;
• requires a person to demonstrate a genuine reason to possess or use a firearm before a licence may be issued to that person and in certain cases demonstrate a need to possess or use particular firearms;
• creates uniform licensing requirements across all jurisdictions (States and Territories in Australia);
• makes training a prerequisite for obtaining a firearms licence;
• creates common grounds for the refusal or revocation of a licence;
• requires a licensee to obtain a permit prior to acquiring any firearm;
• introduces uniform standards for the secure storage of firearms;
• restricts mail order purchases of firearms to licensed dealers.

Means of Achieving Objectives

The objectives are achieved by a licensing scheme based on a range of licence types and weapons categories. An authorised police officer has the authority to issue to a person one or more of a range of licence types. The licence may be endorsed with one or more categories of weapons. Whilst the Regulation provides specific licence conditions, the authorised officer also has the discretion to impose a range of conditions on the licence should there be a need.

The Weapons Regulation 1996 that accompanies the Weapons Act 1990 outlines limitations on the eligibility of persons to be issued with a certain licence and supplements the conditions under which a licence of a particular type will be issued. Weapon categories are fully defined in the Weapons Categories Regulation 1997.