Security and Storage

Welcome to Firearms Reform; an official WA Police Force Podcast.

New standards and permissions for firearm storage and security are the focus of this episode. Commander Panaia outlines the different storage levels that have been created in the new legislation in addition to highlighting the expansive grandfathering of existing license holders into the new storage guidelines.

For any questions or queries related to the topics discussed on this podcast please contact our Licensing Enforcement Division at: 1800 894 474

You can find out more at: Licensing Services (Firearms)

For registration or changes in licensing please visit the portal: Firearms Portal

Transcript

Claire: 0:00

Welcome to Firearms Reform, a WA Police Force podcast. I'm Claire Ciantar and I'm talking to Commander Lawrence Panaia. And this is a pretty important topic that we're covering today about security and storage requirements for firearms. So tell me, Commander, why security and storage is so important.

Lawrence: 0:23

Yes, good morning, Claire, and thank you. Look, obviously the new Act, the Firearms Act 2024, the underpinning primacy of that Act is public safety. And one of the things that all our licensed firearm holders out there can assist us with is the safe security and storage of firearms. Firearms are a hot commodity on the illicit market and almost all the illegal guns out there started life as a legally licensed firearm. So it's really important that we get the security and storage levels right.

Claire: 0:57

What do the logistics around storage actually look like?

Lawrence: 1:02

Yeah. And Claire, trying to accommodate all the different issues that are out there, it does become a complex issue. So what we've got on our website is a matrix that talks about the level of security and storage you need, depending on a whole number of different circumstances. Obviously, the number of firearms you own is one category. The type of firearms you own is another category obviously handguns are a lot more targeted than long arms so they've got a different level of security and obviously where you're safe or security storage is, whether it's in an occupied premises or an unoccupied premises. You know, we looked around Australia to try and make it as simple and as easily accessible as we could, but the matrix is there on our website. And if people were to go there and have a look, they should be able to determine quite quickly where they sit in the level of storage they require.

Claire: 1:59

And does CCTV fall into this matrix that you speak of?

Lawrence: 2:03

It does. So CCTV is required in things like an unoccupied premises where the number of firearms exceeds, I think it's five, when the number jumps above five. So yeah, there are certain circumstances where CCTV will be required.

Claire: 2:16

And could you talk to us in a little bit more detail about the different storage levels that are part of the matrix?

Lawrence: 2:24

Yeah. So one of the things that was in the old act that prevented people sharing storage. So we realized that particularly in some households where you've got a husband and wife, both own firearms, they couldn't have shared storage. The new act allows for that. So you can do that. There are some other parts of it that you need to be aware of, but like rendering it inoperable, or you can use storage when you go to someone else's property and you're shooting there for the weekend, because it makes perfect sense to us that you would secure them in someone else's cabinet. But when you look at it, there are different levels of storage. Level one starts with your basic cabinet, and as we've set that in the regs, level two has a cabinet and the doors get thicker. Level three is where you've got a large number of firearms and your category of safe goes up. And when you've got category C or H firearms and they're your semi-automatic weapons and your handguns, and if it's unoccupied, then you'll need an alarm and CCTV.

Claire: 3:21

And now, does everyone have to get this new storage?

Lawrence: 3:24

No. So what we thought was about 80% of the licensed firearm holders out there have five or less firearms. So anyone with five or less and the category A and B firearms, their grandfather ed under this act, so they don't have to make any changes unless they make a change to their license. So if they come and apply for a new firearm or make some changes to their license, then yes, they will have to comply with the new regs.

Claire: 3:48

And what are some of the standards that have to be met to comply with these new security and storage requirements?

Lawrence: 3:55

To have a look, have a look at that matrix. It'll tell you exactly where you sit in terms of the categories and then make sure, particularly around the type of safe that you get, that it is compliant with the regs.

Claire: 4:08

Great advice, Commander. Thank you very much for joining us. Stay safe, stay informed and catch you next time on Firearms Reform.