Thread: Latest from Police via FCAF

_WELCOME TO OUR FIRST FIREARMS PĀNUI_

Kia ora koutou

Ko Mike McIlraith toku ingoa, ko taku mahi Director Partnerships for Arms Safety and Control at Nga Pirihimana o Aotearoa, and I want to welcome you all to our first Firearms Pānui.
Our vision is that the possession and use of firearms in Aotearoa is the safest in the world; and our purpose is to effectively regulate the legitimate possession and use of firearms to keep all communities safe.
Over the past couple of years there have been legislation and regulation changes for our firearms community. There are still a number of changes coming up in the Firearms space so, we want to offer a communications channel where you can keep up to date with what’s happening and how
you can input.
This pānui will be your regular summary of information alongside sharing any key dates, useful links and information.
While I regularly spend time out in our community, I look forward to using this channel to engage with you on a regular basis.

Ngā mihi
Mike McIlraith
Director Partnerships
Arms Safety and Control

UPDATES
Online application forms

While we will continue to offer paper services we will soon be introducing on our website “MyFirearms” an online portal for applicants to apply for licences and some endorsements, or notify us of changes. This will allow applicants to complete online application forms, upload photos and documents and pay online. I look forward to sharing more details of what this will look like and how this will operate in my next update.

Guidance on security and transportation of firearms and ammunition There are updated regulations in place for the security and transportation of firearms and ammunition. For more information on what
your obligations are as a firearms licence holder check out our guidance document here [2] and watch any of the short guidance videos here [3].

My Firearms will be launched later this year. Would you like to manage and pay for your licensing and endorsements online? Or notify us of any changes?

We encourage you to share this information.

Registry
Over the last couple of months, we have been engaging with our Firearms Community Forums and Groups on the Firearms Registry which will be established and come into force on the 24 June 2023.
Public consultation is planned for the end of this month. A document will be released, seeking feedback on proposed regulations that will support the operation of the Registry. We would encourage you to provide your feedback on proposals. When the consultation dates have been confirmed we will notify you and provide you more information on how to provide feedback.

Registry service design
In parallel to the policy work been undertaken we are now four weeks into a nine-week service design programme for the registry. Service Design is all about understanding what the experience of the
people who would be using the registry could be; designing to drive adoption by making it as easy as possible to use and comply, while considering regulatory requirements.
This is an intensive programme of work involving many with external testing is being undertaken with members of the firearms community including dealers, importers, and a selection of different licence
holders to reflect ethnicity, age, location, and gender.
The outcome of this work will provide help us define the initial view of high-level requirements and solution design for what the registry platform and service can look like and help us deliver a people-centric solution in the future.

Clubs and Ranges update
As of 24 June 2022, shooting clubs and shooting ranges are now regulated by Police. This means that all existing clubs and ranges must apply for approval or certification by 24 June 2023.
Earlier this year Police completed a public consultation on the regulations for clubs and ranges. The final proposals are being considered by Cabinet for approval before the drafting of regulations.
The new regulations will likely come into force in early 2023.

Shooting club committees, shooting club members and Shooting Range Operators are encouraged to become familiar with the new Part 6 of the Arms Act (here) to help them prepare for the changes.
To assist clubs and ranges to understand how the changes may affect them and prepare for the final regulations, Police have released exposure drafts of the shooting range manual, forms, checklists and other information, which are now available on the Police website [5].
Police also ran a series of Shooting Range Inspector courses around the country, which members of the various shooting disciplines attended. These Police trained and recognised shooting range inspectors can help shooting range operators prepare applications in advance of the final regulations.
A dedicated Clubs and Ranges Team within Police has been stood up to process and manage application and compliance reviews for clubs and ranges.
To find out more, please see the clubs and ranges information page on the Police website. If you are a shooting range operator, contact a local shooting range inspector [6] who c an help explain the process and review your draft documentation.

Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Act 2022
The Firearms Prohibition Orders Bill received Royal assent on 15 August.
The Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Act 2022 is now on the legislation website. You can find the Act here [7].
Government prioritises firearm prohibition orders to reduce gun harm.

The passage of the Firearms Prohibition Order Legislation Bill happened on 9 August 2022.

The new law helps to reduce firearm-related crime by targeting possession, use, or carriage of firearms by people whose actions and behaviours demonstrate risk.

You can read more about this here:
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/...educe-gun-harm [8]