Amendments to the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956
Attorney-General's Department
18 August 2000
Introduction
The Government
is concerned about the current level at which handguns are emerging in crime
and the illicit trade in these types of firearm. In order to reduce risks
of the diversion of legitimately imported handguns to the black market and
thereby improve community safety, stronger controls on the importation of
handguns have beenintroduced.
The new controls do not affect the current arrangemnts for ownership of handguns in australia, which are administered by the States and Territories.
Importation of Handguns
The amendments to the Regulations require the australian Customs Service (Customs) to store
any handguns imported for dealer stock into australia until they have been
sold to an end-user authorised by State/Territory police - in much the same
fashion as occurs with Category C firearms sold to primary producers.
This new arrangement will applly to all handguns (including those complete handguns in a disassembled or unassembled state) coming into the country from Friday 18 August 2000, even if they were ordered some time ago. Transitional arrangements are made in the Regulations which enable the new requirements to be met within 28 days after importation of any articles which are ordered, or brought into the country, before 2 September 2000.
Importation for demonstration/testing purposes
While dealers will no longer be permitted to improt handguns to hold on their own premises
as stock pending a sale, they will be permitted to import and hold a small
nuomber of handguns for the purposes of testing or demonstration to prospective
customers. This provision has also been extended to category C (semi-automatic)
firearms.
Dealers will be permitted to import and hold up to 10 newly imported handguns and 5 newly imported Category C firearms as demonstration/testing stock, provided only one of each model of any firearm is held. This stock must not be made available for sale, but must be owned and possessed by the dealer, and destroyed by police or exported once it is no longer required or if further demonstration/testing stock is required.
Dealers who wish to hold such items for demonstration/testing stock must directly import the items for their own use.
Firearms which are imported under the 'official purposes test' for demonstration to, or testing by, governments are not counted as demonstration/testing stock.
Transitional exemption for Olympic Games
The new regime does not apply to handguns which are to be used by an importer to compete
in either the Sydney 200 Olympic Games or Paralympic Games or an associated event.
Further information on Procedures
For information on Customs procedures for handgun importation it I\s recommended that you
contact you nearest Australian Custom Service office.
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