The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal overturned a decision not to grant someone a firearm once every two weeks in May and June this year,prompting concern from public health experts. Police tried to block those people from accessing a gun because they alleged they had histories of mental illness,schizophrenia,or violent or threatening behaviour.
The number of registered firearms in NSW jumped from just over 1 million in 2020 to 1,112,734 at the end of last year,and some suburbs of Sydney are now home to thousands of firearms. An extra 10,000 people have also been granted a gun licence in that time,with 251,563 now legally able to own and shoot a gun.
Police objected to one man obtaining a gun licence who was previously addicted to heroin and had been medicated in 2007 for schizophrenia and depression. He had also been charged with the illegal possession of a pump-action shotgun. Police said his criminal history,mental health history,previous drug use and traffic offences meant he was not a fit and proper person to own a gun.
The tribunal found he had successfully rehabilitated and his prior offending and mental health issues posed no real risk to public safety. In April,it ordered that he should be issued with a firearms licence.
Under NSW law,firearms use is considered a privilege and the applicant must be deemed a fit and proper person to own a gun without being a danger to public safety,as judged by the NSW Police. Refusals can be challenged via an internal review,and any final decision can be challenged at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
When the initial decision by NSW Police not to grant someone a firearm licence is overturned by the tribunal,it can order the police to reconsider their decision,or,simply order that the individual be issued with a firearms license.
A government spokesman said the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal reviewed a relatively small number of the decisions made by NSW Police in relation to gun licences.
“When reviewing an administrative decision related to a firearms licence or permit,a range of factors are considered,including whether the applicant is a fit and proper person and can be trusted to have possession of firearms without danger to public safety or to the peace,” he said.
A NSW Police spokeswoman said it would be inappropriate to comment on tribunal decisions but noted the broader rise in gun licences was in line with population increases.
“The use and possession of firearms in NSW is strictly controlled,with decisions to issue a licence involving evaluating an applicant’s suitability,” she said. “This evaluation includes considering the applicant’s behaviour,environment,and history to ensure they pose no risk to public safety.”
Last year an extra 7000 people listed sport target shooting as the reason for needing the firearms licence compared to 2020.
University of Sydney professor of public health Joel Negin said the vast majority of firearms licence-holders used the weapons responsibly.
“But where there have been challenges,it has been around domestic violence and mental health,” he said. “If these cases have been overturned for people who have mental health and prior histories of violence,I think that is concerning.
“While we focus as a community on violence and mass shootings,that’s what gets the headlines,it is actually suicide which is the most concerning.”
NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson said the reasons for accessing firearms should be reviewed and novel solutions were needed to make sure suburban homes were not becoming boltholes for guns.
“The data suggests the uptick is because people are using a gun for fun,and this is no laughing matter. It’s very concerning that this is resulting in a concentration of lethal weapons in the community in particular suburbs and localities,such as western and south-western Sydney,” she said.
“Guns for recreation do not necessarily need to be owned personally and stored away from the purpose-built place they are used … When access to guns becomes more commonplace,it is inevitable that people will become more exposed to gun violence.”
NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson wants the rules around gun licences reviewed.Dion Georgopoulos
The south-west Sydney postcode of 2170,which takes in suburbs including Liverpool,Moorebank,Prestons,Casula,and Chipping Norton has 5658 guns;the 2745 postcode which includes Glenmore Park,Luddenham and Mulgoa in Sydney’s west has 4476 guns,while the Mosman 2088 postcode has 887.
Police objected to one man obtaining a gun licence because they had previously been called to his property and alleged he captured and threatened to shoot his neighbour’s dog after it had attacked his chickens.
The same man had allegedly threatened a witness in a separate criminal investigation and had previously been banned from owning a firearm for a decade after driving around his country town with an unloaded air rifle on a vigilante mission,police alleged. Despite police concerns about his behaviour and criminal history,the tribunal gave him the green light to obtain a gun licence on the proviso he completed a safe handling of firearms course.
Other individuals who successfully challenged a police decision not to issue them with a gun licence this year included a police officer who had his firearm licence revoked after taking mental health leave and medicated with antipsychotic and antidepressant medication,and a woman who had a history of suicidal ideation dating back several decades. Another man,who also had a history of suicidal ideation,was also cleared to acquire a gun licence.
Other applicants successfully had decisions overturned because police were concerned they had family members who had long histories of violent aggression and might be able to access the firearms.
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