Hunting Licenses and Permissions

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

Claire and Commander Panaia are on the hunt... for license holders unfamiliar with the new regulations regarding hunting permissions. Renewals are covered this episode, as are temporary permissions, and the actual process for issuing hunting permissions by landowners. 

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: 0:03

Welcome to another episode of Firearms Reform, a WA Police Force series. I'm Claire Ciantar and I'm joined by Commander Lawrence Panaia. We're discussing hunting licences today. So Commander, can you tell us the purpose of an individual hunting licence?

Lawrence: 0:18

I can. So thank you, Claire. The hunting licence under the old Act was probably the most common licence that we had out there. So it's probably the one that will affect most people with a firearm licence in WA. And it was the one that historically you got a letter from a farmer saying you were allowed to shoot on his property. So that's why it's really important that we transition this one over and do it really well.

Claire: 0:42

What permissions are required for hunting?

Lawrence: 0:44

So this is a modern take on that old letter system. It's now called a hunting permission and that has to be done in our portal. So the land gets registered by the landowner and then they issue that hunting permission through the portal.

Claire: 0:59

Now, are there any limits on firearms under a hunting license?

Lawrence: 1:02

Yeah, so the hunt license is category A or B firearms only and they're the standard long arms like a .22 rifle or a shotgun and you can only have a maximum of five under that license.

Claire: 1:15

Now the portal is a pretty key component of renewing a hunting permission. Can you tell us a little bit about that process?

Lawrence: 1:23

Yeah so we're going to line up the hunting permissions with the renewal and another change from the old act is the license was renewable every 12 months under the old act. In this Act, we're giving people the option of one, three or five. So when your license comes up for renewal, the landowner who issued that permission will have a button in his system that says renew or reject. So it's that simple, y ou don't have to do anything else other than make sure you've got that relationship with the landowner.

Claire: 1:52

Now, what happens if someone hunts without those proper permissions?

Lawrence: 1:56

Obviously, there can be legal consequences in that, but hopefully everyone will have sorted those hunting permissions as we try into the new license. And of course, it leads into the rules about temporary hunting permissions.

Claire: 2:09

And tell us a little bit about those specific rules for temporary hunting permissions.

Lawrence: 2:14

Alright. So the hunting permission we were talking about is, as I said, the one that will give life to your license. You need one of those to get a license. Then the temporary hunting permissions, once you have a license, you can approach any of the other registered landowners in the state and get permission to shoot on their property as well. They can last up to 14 days. They're done by text or email as long as they're in a written form and they don't have to be done in the portal.

Claire: 2:38

Now, is there anything else I would need if I was to go hunting on land?

Lawrence: 2:42

Yeah, well, just to understand that the hunting permission is, as I said, the instrument that gives life to your license. It's not a carte blanche for a right of access to property. Obviously, common sense would say if you're going to go and shoot on a property, you should contact that landowner beforehand, let him know you're there, make sure you've got permission to be there on that given day because that's the safest thing to do.

Claire: 3:05

Now, thank you very much, Commander, for for all your advice. Are there any other tips you can give in relation to the hunting licences?

Lawrence: 3:13

Just remember, stay informed. Remember the rules. There is info sheets on our website about the hunting permissions. And again, they can contact us if they need to out at Licensing Services. That number is 1300 894 474.

Claire: 3:29

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