Queensland residents draws to the attention of the House that since 1997 there has been a duplicate imposition of fees, application forms and time wasted by licensed shooters, licensed firearm dealers and government employees. The Weapons Act 1990 already prescribes licence fees, 28 day waiting period and investigations on genuine need for all categories of firearms.

Section 35(1)(c) states a person may acquire a weapon, if the person acquires the weapon under other lawful authority (Licence 49A), justification or excuse. This section has been used by licensed dealers to register and swap firearms for warranty since 1997, to register firearms to licenced shooters in the successful 2013 amnesty and to register firearms that are exchanged for similar firearms of the same category.

Currently, the Queensland Police Service imposes a duplicate provision under the Weapons Act 1990 for people who have not yet received a licence in the correct category under section 35(1)(b) which requires a Permit to Acquire (PTA).

Weapons dealers are required to register the firearms to the person either under section 35(1)(b) or (c) then report this to the Weapons Licensing Branch within 14 days.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to support the Government's commitment to reduce red tape by immediately instructing the Queensland Police to cease the duplication of an unnecessary imposition of the PTA system and allow licensed shooters to acquire the firearms in the category they are licensed for.