The Attorney-General’s Department and the Firearms Policy Unit
Australia’s current firearms laws are, by and large, the result of the decisions made by the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD), specifically the Firearms Policy Unit. There are three main groups in the AGD that are under the control of Secretary Roger Wilkins. These include the Strategic Policy and Coordination Group, Civil Justice and Legal Services Group, and National Security and Criminal Justice Group. Looking at the AGD from an organisational perspective, the third group oversees the Border Management and Crime Prevention Branch, which, in turn, manages the Firearms Policy Unit.
The Firearms Policy Unit is “responsible for developing Australian Government policy on firearms and pursuing national consistency among state and territory approaches to firearms policy and the control of prohibited firearms”. Specifically, this means providing advice within the department to other Commonwealth agencies and to the Australian Government on national firearms issues. It works with state and territory agencies to deliver better outcomes in the national management of firearms.
The Firearms Policy Unit also provides representation on the multijurisdictional Firearms Policy Working Group (FPWG), which reports to the Ministerial Council on Police and Emergency Management - Police (MCPEMP). Representatives on the FPWG come from each state and territory and from the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, Australian Federal Police, Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), Australian Crime Commission, Defence Export Control Office and CrimTrac.
The MCPEMP was originally called the Australasian Police Ministers’ Council (APMC) and was created in 1980. Initially, its purpose was to establish the National Common Police Services (NCPS) and “to promote a coordinated national response to law enforcement issues and to maximise the efficient use of police resources”. However, in May 1986, it broadened its scope to creating a coordinated national approach to curb organised crime and increase its capacity to implement national law enforcement policy.
More recently, the MCPEMP’s responsibilities have widened to include a range of national law enforcement policy development and implementation activities including DNA legislation, a national sex offenders’ registry, and gun control.
The Firearms Policy Unit contributes to the presentation of Australia’s firearms policies in relevant international forums and initiatives such as the United Nations (UN) protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, the UN Small Arms Programme of Action, and the UN Marking and Tracing Instrument.
Within Australia, the unit is responsible for processing applications for permission to import firearms. As such, it is in regular communication with the Australian Federal Police, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, and Defence Export Control Office in managing the movement of firearms across our borders.
Nationally, the unit has developed the following key elements of firearms control:
• Prohibitions on fully and semi-automatic longarms, with their use restricted primarily to military, police or government purposes
• Prohibitions on sporting shooters possessing, owning, using, purchasing or importing ‘high powered’, concealable handguns
• Mandatory registration of all firearms on state and territory firearms registry systems
• Mandatory licensing of all firearm owners
• Strict licensing requirements, including age limitations, undertaking firearms safety training, and compliance with firearm storage standards.
In July this year, the AGD’s Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor announced a new Commonwealth Firearms Advisory Council, which replaces the Sporting Shooters and Firearms Advisory Council and will advise the Firearms Policy Unit on a wide range of firearms issues.
“The Council’s mandate will not be limited to issues affecting sporting shooters, but will include firearms issues of national importance such as the Commonwealth importation,” said Mrf O’Connor.
“The members of the new council are drawn from the commercial and recreational shooting community and were chosen for their experience and depth of knowledge of firearms issues.”
The members of the new Commonwealth Firearms Advisory Council are:
• Tim Bannister - Representative of the Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia
• Robert Nioa - Managing director of Nioa and director of the National Dealers and Traders Council (NDTC)
• Robert Schwartz - Former Senior Technical Advisor of Firearms for Victoria Police
• Russell Bate - Chair of Field and Game Australia
• Dr Samara McPhedran - Chair of the International Coalition for Women in Shooting and Hunting (WISH)
• Douglas Shupe - Federation of Hunting Clubs and Game Council NSW.
The Council will also include permanent representatives of the SSAA, Attorney-General’s Department, Australian Federal Police, and Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.
The MCPEMP have two meetings a year, unless urgent issues arise. Prior to these meetings, the Senior Officers Group (SOG), which reports to MCPEMP, assembles with a goal to “promote a coordinated national response to law enforcement issues. It establishes agreed positions on critical issues on the national law enforcement agenda, including firearms and weapons policy”.
SOG is a standing committee of officials from states and territories and the Commonwealth. Members of this group comprise police commissioners from the state, territories, Australian Federal Police and New Zealand; the Secretary of the Victorian Department of Justice; the Director-General of the NSW Ministry of Police; the Chief Executive of the ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety; the ACT Chief Police Officer; and the Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Criminal Justice Group in the Australian Attorney-General’s Department. The directors of the NCPS have observer status at SOG meetings.
For more information, visit www.ag.gov.au
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