Tasmania Enforces New Restrictions on Antique Gun Owners

Weapons that were surrendered due to the National Firearm Amnesty are seen at the Victoria Police Forensic Services Centre in Melbourne, Australia, on Aug. 11, 2017. Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Owning an antique gun in Tasmania will soon require a licence, as the state government revises the firearm laws in the name of improving community safety.

On Jan. 18, Tasmania Police announced that firearms pre-1900 would no longer be exempt from the state’s Firearms Act 1996.

Owners of antique firearms are now subject to the licencing, registration, and storage requirements of the law.

To help firearm owners adapt to the new policy, the police have provided them with four options.

Owners can sign up for a time-limited individual exemption (while applying for a suitable firearms licence and registration), or immediately apply for a firearms licence or a licence upgrade.

However, the second approach required antique firearm owners to surrender their firearms to a licenced dealer immediately.

The remaining options include selling the firearm through a licensed firearms dealer or surrendering it to the police for destruction.

Assistant Commissioner Rob Blackwood said the new policy would make the community safer.

“The new process to possess antique firearms will further help to protect our community by ensuring that proper processes are in place regarding the possession and storage of antique firearms,” he said in a statement.

“Importantly, it allows for fit and proper person assessments to be undertaken, which previously was not done in relation to antique firearms.”

Acknowledging the impact on antique firearms owners, the assistant commissioner said the new policy would give them some time to consider licensing and registration requirements.

“The opportunity to apply for a time-limited individual exemption will give owners time to consider their options to keep, sell or dispose of the firearms,” he said.

Why Are Antique Firearms No Longer Exempt?

The decision to end the exemption for antique firearms follows a recent review by the Tasmanian Police Commissioner, who found that excluding antique firearms was inconsistent with the intent of the Firearms Act 1996 and community expectations regarding the licencing and registration of firearms.

The commissioner found that the exemption order for antique firearms excluded a category of firearm rather than a person, exceeding the commissioner’s powers under the law.

The police said there were cases of misinterpreting the exemption order where some people relied on it to own antique firearms that could be equipped with commercially available cartridge ammunition.

Other issues included the difficulties of determining the year of manufacture of the antique firearms and whether there was commercially available cartridge ammunition for them.

“A firearm can be used to intimidate or threaten, regardless of whether it can be fired. That’s why replica firearms are not legal,” Mr. Blackwood said.

“Antique firearms which were subject to Exemption No.4 can’t be fired with commercial cartridge ammunition—they are muzzle-loading. These firearms are often held by collectors or have been in families for generations.”

Tasmania Police will inform all firearm owners about the changes in the coming days, while the state government is concurrently working on legislative amendments to the firearm laws.

According to Tasmanian crime statistics, firearm offences accounted for 37 percent of 389 miscellaneous offences in the 2021-2022 financial year.

Firearms also accounted for 2 percent of 3,407 assault offences and 30 percent of 37 armed robberies.