You need to act quickly!

As a criminal lawyer specialising in firearms, I have on many occasions been confronted with stressed clients who have had their firearms licence suspended and revoked for trivial reasons.

If you think you might be served with a Notice of Suspension of your firearms licence, YOU MUST ACT QUICKLY, as there are strict time limits and deadlines for appealing any decision that takes away your freedoms and privileges of holding a firearms licence and enjoying your firearms.

Bureaucracy is the Firearms Registry’s Specialty

If you are served with a Notice, what then follows is often a frustrating and complex bureaucratic and legal process by the NSW Firearms Registry who represent the Commissioner of Police.

Upon being suspended, and if you have firearms stored at your home address, the police will immediately seize them and store them off-site, usually at a police station, until an Adjudicator from the Firearms Registry (the Commissioner’s Delegate) or the Commissioner of Police decides whether to revoke your firearms licence permanently. The odds are they will proceed with a Revocation Notice unless you can provide very compelling reasons!

While they are only supposed to take 21 days to do the review, it can take much longer – sometimes as long as 3 to 6 months!

The internal decision to revoke your firearms licence is determined through the Firearms Registry administered by the New South Wales Police Force (NSWPF). They are both the law enforcement body AND regulator – which is problematic in itself and represents, in my opinion, a real and perceived conflict of interest.

It can be a lengthy process with little to no guarantee that you will ever see your licence and firearms returned.

The Firearms Registry and NSWPF Look to Seize rather than Restore your Firearms Licence

The Firearms Registry wields tremendous power around your privilege to possess a licence and own a firearm.

It is almost draconian and, in my view, an abuse of process that discriminates against responsible gun owners and a person’s fundamental entitlement to procedural fairness.

In other words, if a police officer ‘feels’ there may be a ‘public safety’ concern or ‘risk’ around you holding a firearms licence, then they may issue you with a Notice of Suspension (referred to as a P484 or P485) even if you haven’t been charged with any criminal offence or a civil process.

It’s Easy for Police to Suspend Your Licence and Seize Your Firearms

Suspension and seizure will usually arise if you come to the notice of a police officer. Everytime you speak to a police officer, and your details are recorded, you are captured in their COPS System – this is a vast dossier database held by the NSWPF of all persons they come into contact with – it stands for Computerised Operational Policing System.

You could come into contact with a police officer for several simple reasons, such as a traffic stop to undergo a breath test. They may then check your driver’s licence and find that you also have a firearms licence. They could then start to ask you questions about that firearms licence, which is totally irrelevant to the reason you were stopped in the first place. That seemingly harmless interaction could then result in a ‘concern’ about you continuing to hold a firearms licence. Yes, it happens!

Another example is a neighbour or a family member who might make a malicious allegation against you, and suddenly you’re under the microscope and being investigated even though you haven’t been charged with anything or have been assured you’ve done nothing wrong. That’s right, you could lose your firearm because someone picks up a phone and makes an unfounded or vexatious complaint against you! It will then be up to you to show you are a ‘fit and proper’ person to hold a firearms licence and not a threat to public safety!

Do Not Speak or Seek to Explain Anything to the Police – They Don’t Care

The lesson is never to trust a police officer who gives you their version of legal advice. It is often misleading and mostly incorrect. They are often no better placed than the ordinary person to give legal advice. And they should not be providing legal advice or guidance to persons they are investigating.

First, police officers are not legally qualified to provide give legal advice or guidance. Second, even if they provide legal advice and recommendations and they are wrong, and you rely upon that advice, you will not be able to rely upon their error to argue for the return of your licence or firearms.

You need proper and reliable legal advice from an actual expert, like Richard McDonald at McDonald Law

We recommend being very careful about speaking or corresponding with any police officer about your circumstances because, despite the fact you might be clear of any criminal or civil proceedings; they could still seize your firearms on a mere suspicion or ‘hunch’ that you could be a risk to public safety (including your own safety) based on their decision-making guidelines.

Internal and External Reviews

Suppose push comes to shove and your firearms licence is suspended or revoked and your firearms licence and firearms seized. In that case, the first step is to seek an “Internal Review” at the Firearms Registry, and if that fails, you will need to lodge an appeal or “External Review” to the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal (NCAT).

They Are Repeat Players, You are a Novice, I am an Expert

If this happens to you, you definitely need our assistance because anything you tell the police will be recorded and will probably be used against you in any review process, including your attitude and how you have spoken to them! They record everything!

The common mistake is speaking to the police, thinking you are doing the right thing by pleading with their common sense and sensibilities. Again, they do not care!

This is often a fatal approach as they are only interested in enforcing the law and have a “let the court decide approach’ irrespective of what genuine reason you may think you have for the reinstatment of your licence and firearms. It costs them nothing; meanwhile, it could cost your firearms licence for the foreseeable future.

You will always be in a vulnerable position because the onus is on you to demonstrate why you should get your licence back.

They are repeat players handing out suspensions with all the care and no responsibility. Meanwhile, you have never even engaged the system!

If you don’t put your best foot forward and provide proper reasons as to why the Commissioner (or Delegate) should not suspend or revoke your licence, you will likely be locked away from your licence and firearms forever.

Make no mistake, the NSW Firearms Registry wields enormous and draconian powers over your ‘privilege’ to possess and possess your firearms.

If you are locked away from your licence, you must surrender your firearms

If you have your licence revoked, you will be forced to surrender and sell your guns or give them to someone else who can hold and store them for you.

This could be expensive if you choose to have someone else look after them for you or should you decide to surrender them to the police once the appeals are all exhausted, and if they win, they will dispose of them as they see fit and again, you’ll never see them again. This will be particularly heartbreaking if they have sentimental value as a collector or they are a family heirloom, not to mention being locked out of your passion for shooting.

What to do now – Call Richard immediately!

If you have had your firearms seized by the NSW Police, don’t risk going it alone. Call McDonald Law now on (02) 8824 4736 or 0411460034 to speak with one of Sydney’s most experienced firearms lawyers. If it is more convenient for your situation we will even come to you, or we can meet in one of our conference rooms and offices.

Disclaimer

The content of the McDonald Law website is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this website do not constitute legal advice, it should only be used for information only.