Moving to western australia and transferring firearm license

Questions about Western Australian gun and ammunition laws. W.A. Firearms Act 1973.

Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Mr.Seacucumber » 17 Aug 2018, 5:00 pm

Ah $250 isn’t as high as I was expecting. I’ll just say to myself it’s the cost of a WA-PTA and that’s the price I have to pay for working in the mines ;)
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Sawyers » 17 Aug 2018, 5:04 pm

Mr.Seacucumber wrote:Ah $250 isn’t as high as I was expecting. I’ll just say to myself it’s the cost of a WA-PTA and that’s the price I have to pay for working in the mines ;)

Some people will try and slug you $250 per calibre.

Also what mine are you working at?
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by ponkychonk » 17 Aug 2018, 5:48 pm

Mr.Seacucumber wrote:How much have people payed for the property letters?


They usually sell for around 200 per calibre
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Mr.Seacucumber » 17 Aug 2018, 5:57 pm

Sawyers wrote:
Mr.Seacucumber wrote:Ah $250 isn’t as high as I was expecting. I’ll just say to myself it’s the cost of a WA-PTA and that’s the price I have to pay for working in the mines ;)

Some people will try and slug you $250 per calibre.

Also what mine are you working at?


Kalgoorlie :)
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by bigfellascott » 17 Aug 2018, 7:37 pm

Mr.Seacucumber wrote:How much have people payed for the property letters?


I think someone here payed around $700 for 3 letters - apparently you need a letter for each cal? Don't quote me on it but it was something along those lines from memory. :unknown:
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Mr.Seacucumber » 18 Aug 2018, 6:54 am

Wait a second does that mean you can get a Cat C license with a property letter?
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Daddybang » 18 Aug 2018, 9:43 am

Mr.Seacucumber wrote:Wait a second does that mean you can get a Cat C license with a property letter?


No as you are not a primary producer or working for one you are a rec hunter. :thumbsup: :drinks:
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by eddahenry » 18 Aug 2018, 9:05 pm

No you dont need a letter for each call as long as the property letter covers the cals you want to get licenced
You need a Property letter for each addition , so you are best off getting them all done at once
IE
4500 acres
Game ,, Rats , cats , wild dogs , rabbits , foxs , pigs and camels will pretty much cover everything from air rifle to 300 win mag
Remember in WA
they dont like you having 2 guns of the same cal , you need to stat the reason why you need 2 ,, one has a 20 inch barrel and is a scrub gun one has a 26 in barrel and is a long range gun ,, s**t like that
they really dont like you having above a 300 win mag ,, for some bulls**t reason

you can submit multiple Cat A and B on one property letter and with 1 addition or new licence
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by eddahenry » 18 Aug 2018, 9:07 pm

bigfellascott wrote:
jessent1 wrote:hi I am thinking of moving to western Australia from qld, does wa have a mutual recognition of firearms licences or do you have to start from scratch


Just ring up and ask the WA firearms registry, better to get the correct info than to rely on the armchair internet experts who really don't know what they are talking about. From my understanding, it will be an expensive exercise so be prepared for the $$ it will cost. :thumbsup:

funny thing is mate , they have no Idea ,, true story ,, best bet is to call a shop like downrange is osbourne park ,, they are my go to guys
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by eddahenry » 18 Aug 2018, 9:16 pm

Mr.Seacucumber wrote:Ha there you go I posted the exact same question on reddit the other day. Yeah I’m just going to start from scratch no idea how I’m going to get a property letter though. Might just redo my handgun and forget about the rifles till I come back.

A handy hint
can keep a Handgun in a normal rifle safe in WA
so get a rifle safe in case in the future you want to get some rifles
Or use the small ammo compartment for the hadgun and the rifle side for all that ammo you need to feed them lol
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 18 Aug 2018, 9:25 pm

Silly question, can't you join ssaa or another club in wa... instead of a property letter... ie that means you only allowed to shoot at a range.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by eddahenry » 18 Aug 2018, 9:38 pm

Ziad wrote:Silly question, can't you join ssaa or another club in wa... instead of a property letter... ie that means you only allowed to shoot at a range.

correct if you have a support letter from a range ,, you can only shoot it at legal ranges
if you have it on you hunting ,, same crime as having a unlicensed firearm
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by ThumbNT » 28 Aug 2018, 10:59 am

moving from QLD to perth ...

Sorry to hear man, stay strong.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Sionso » 20 Jan 2023, 8:03 am

Mr.Seacucumber wrote:Wait a second does that mean you can get a Cat C license with a property letter?

I am curious as to what ended up happening to your H5 Vektor?
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Barbarian » 21 Jan 2023, 11:42 am

eddahenry wrote:No you dont need a letter for each call as long as the property letter covers the cals you want to get licenced
You need a Property letter for each addition , so you are best off getting them all done at once
IE
4500 acres
Game ,, Rats , cats , wild dogs , rabbits , foxs , pigs and camels will pretty much cover everything from air rifle to 300 win mag
Remember in WA
they dont like you having 2 guns of the same cal , you need to stat the reason why you need 2 ,, one has a 20 inch barrel and is a scrub gun one has a 26 in barrel and is a long range gun ,, s**t like that
they really dont like you having above a 300 win mag ,, for some bulls**t reason

you can submit multiple Cat A and B on one property letter and with 1 addition or new licence


All this, Transfer to a LGS near you, start fresh. Speak to your LGS and they'll be able to help you with navigating reasons for multiples of the same caliber. Just got to play the game. Get them all on the same application so you only pay once.

Property letter is just to get you over the line for the application, consider it the price of entry if you don't otherwise have somewhere to shoot at the moment or your property while safe to shoot on, doesn't meet WAPOL's arbitrary minimum property sizes. We can't hunt on crown land in WA so if you don't have a club letter to show you can shoot at a range, the property letter is just showing that you've got somewhere you CAN shoot. Most of the letters are from places like Ella Valla station and Kallbarri Shooting Adventures, so you can go shoot there if you arrange a time and pay any additional costs.

I suspect if crown land hunting was ever permitted that we'd see a change to how/weather property letters are required.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by bladeracer » 21 Jan 2023, 5:47 pm

Barbarian wrote:Property letter is just to get you over the line for the application, consider it the price of entry if you don't otherwise have somewhere to shoot at the moment or your property while safe to shoot on, doesn't meet WAPOL's arbitrary minimum property sizes. We can't hunt on crown land in WA so if you don't have a club letter to show you can shoot at a range, the property letter is just showing that you've got somewhere you CAN shoot. Most of the letters are from places like Ella Valla station and Kallbarri Shooting Adventures, so you can go shoot there if you arrange a time and pay any additional costs.

I suspect if crown land hunting was ever permitted that we'd see a change to how/weather property letters are required.


This is the stupidest part of them enforcing this property size rubbish, which is not law. To shoot on your own 100 acre property you need to buy a letter saying you can shoot on a 5000 acre property, even though you have zero intention of ever shooting anywhere but your own property, but you can't licence a rifle on your own property because "it's too small", even though you can legally shoot there.

Somebody really needs to challenge them in court over this property size crap, they should not be allowed to make stuff up and claim it to be law. You can lawfully shoot on any size property in WA, there is no legislated minimum land size.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Oldbloke » 22 Jan 2023, 2:06 pm

bladeracer wrote:
Barbarian wrote:Property letter is just to get you over the line for the application, consider it the price of entry if you don't otherwise have somewhere to shoot at the moment or your property while safe to shoot on, doesn't meet WAPOL's arbitrary minimum property sizes. We can't hunt on crown land in WA so if you don't have a club letter to show you can shoot at a range, the property letter is just showing that you've got somewhere you CAN shoot. Most of the letters are from places like Ella Valla station and Kallbarri Shooting Adventures, so you can go shoot there if you arrange a time and pay any additional costs.

I suspect if crown land hunting was ever permitted that we'd see a change to how/weather property letters are required.


This is the stupidest part of them enforcing this property size rubbish, which is not law. To shoot on your own 100 acre property you need to buy a letter saying you can shoot on a 5000 acre property, even though you have zero intention of ever shooting anywhere but your own property, but you can't licence a rifle on your own property because "it's too small", even though you can legally shoot there.

Somebody really needs to challenge them in court over this property size crap, they should not be allowed to make stuff up and claim it to be law. You can lawfully shoot on any size property in WA, there is no legislated minimum land size.


That indicates there is no oversight of WA Police management.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Toadstool » 23 Jan 2023, 10:59 am

Let me get this right.

In WA you can get a property letter for some place you won't shoot at.

And then it's LEGAL to shoot those rifles on your property?

I don't mean a suburban backyard. More like a 15 or so acres little farm. So by law (personal opinion aside), this would be completely fine?
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jan 2023, 12:14 pm

Toadstool wrote:Let me get this right.

In WA you can get a property letter for some place you won't shoot at.

And then it's LEGAL to shoot those rifles on your property?

I don't mean a suburban backyard. More like a 15 or so acres little farm. So by law (personal opinion aside), this would be completely fine?


Yes, you need a letter saying that you have access to shoot on a very large property before WA will allow you to own a rifle or gun but you can shoot on any size property. You never have to shoot on any property you have a letter for, you merely have to show that you have permission to shoot there, even if you actually aren't allowed to.

There is no legislated minimum property size for shooting in any Australian state. Outside influences might make it illegal, mainly regarding safety and noise concerns. Talk to your local Police to confirm as they will be the people coming to visit if anybody complains.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Toadstool » 23 Jan 2023, 6:21 pm

bladeracer wrote:There is no legislated minimum property size for shooting in any Australian state. Outside influences might make it illegal, mainly regarding safety and noise concerns. Talk to your local Police to confirm as they will be the people coming to visit if anybody complains.


Kinda cool. I got a couple of shotguns using my own property (16ish acres), and then later got some 22's with a property letter. I always thought I wasn't allowed to shoot the 22s here, but now I know I legally can, sweet.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Barbarian » 24 Jan 2023, 7:02 pm

Oldbloke wrote:
bladeracer wrote:
This is the stupidest part of them enforcing this property size rubbish, which is not law. To shoot on your own 100 acre property you need to buy a letter saying you can shoot on a 5000 acre property, even though you have zero intention of ever shooting anywhere but your own property, but you can't licence a rifle on your own property because "it's too small", even though you can legally shoot there.

Somebody really needs to challenge them in court over this property size crap, they should not be allowed to make stuff up and claim it to be law. You can lawfully shoot on any size property in WA, there is no legislated minimum land size.


That indicates there is no oversight of WA Police management.


Preaching to the choir lads.

Unfortunately I don't think any legal challenge would have much merit. They can easily pull up statistics to prove that even a .22lr is lethal at some absurd range while being blown around by the wind and that would likely be enough justification in the eyes of a court that don't know anything about guns. Obviously the case would need to be argued based on the legality of hunting on smaller properties and shooting safety principles but such a challenge could just as likely cause minimum property size to be introduced at WAPOL figures into legislation.

End of the day it helps to do some networking if your serious about shooting in WA, even if it means starting out with your local club and finding out if someone there is willing to right you a letter for a six pack or something.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by bladeracer » 24 Jan 2023, 8:43 pm

Barbarian wrote:Preaching to the choir lads.

Unfortunately I don't think any legal challenge would have much merit. They can easily pull up statistics to prove that even a .22lr is lethal at some absurd range while being blown around by the wind and that would likely be enough justification in the eyes of a court that don't know anything about guns. Obviously the case would need to be argued based on the legality of hunting on smaller properties and shooting safety principles but such a challenge could just as likely cause minimum property size to be introduced at WAPOL figures into legislation.

End of the day it helps to do some networking if your serious about shooting in WA, even if it means starting out with your local club and finding out if someone there is willing to right you a letter for a six pack or something.


It doesn't matter what they pull out of somewhere, there is no law that allows them to make specific property size requirements thus they simply should not be allowed to do it. The fact that all other states don't have such a requirement on property sizes, despite having much smaller properties and much denser population concentration should be sufficient to prove to any court that it is unjustified.

Networking to get access to properties within WA is entirely unreasonable. If travelling 3500km to hunt on a million-acre Kimberly property is accepted as perfectly fine then it should be equally acceptable to travel 3000kms to hunt in a 50-acre state forest in Victoria where you don't require any permission from anybody. Considering how much of the WA population are FIFO that live in other states anyway it seems perfectly acceptable to me.

I know ACT has no hunting at all, private or public, all they have there is pest control on private property. I'm now curious whether ACT residents can get "Hunting" on their licence at all since anybody there can only hunt in other states anyway. My brother used us as his hunting permission when he lived in Canberra so I'm guessing it is accepted. He never had to do compulsory shoots because he had our property permission in Victoria.

I think somebody should survey to see how many WA residents hunt and shoot in other states, then give those figures to WA Police and have the property letter requirements thrown out entirely.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Barbarian » 25 Jan 2023, 3:38 pm

bladeracer wrote:It doesn't matter what they pull out of somewhere, there is no law that allows them to make specific property size requirements thus they simply should not be allowed to do it. The fact that all other states don't have such a requirement on property sizes, despite having much smaller properties and much denser population concentration should be sufficient to prove to any court that it is unjustified.

Networking to get access to properties within WA is entirely unreasonable. If travelling 3500km to hunt on a million-acre Kimberly property is accepted as perfectly fine then it should be equally acceptable to travel 3000kms to hunt in a 50-acre state forest in Victoria where you don't require any permission from anybody. Considering how much of the WA population are FIFO that live in other states anyway it seems perfectly acceptable to me.

I know ACT has no hunting at all, private or public, all they have there is pest control on private property. I'm now curious whether ACT residents can get "Hunting" on their licence at all since anybody there can only hunt in other states anyway. My brother used us as his hunting permission when he lived in Canberra so I'm guessing it is accepted. He never had to do compulsory shoots because he had our property permission in Victoria.

I think somebody should survey to see how many WA residents hunt and shoot in other states, then give those figures to WA Police and have the property letter requirements thrown out entirely.


I agree blade, its not in the law. But the WA act gives the commissioner sweeping powers in the name of community safety to deny licenses without explanation.

Interstate hunting and shooting is a great point and I'd like see a legal challenge based around that. I've gone to SA myself to shoot PRS.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by bladeracer » 25 Jan 2023, 4:50 pm

Barbarian wrote:I agree blade, its not in the law. But the WA act gives the commissioner sweeping powers in the name of community safety to deny licenses without explanation.

Interstate hunting and shooting is a great point and I'd like see a legal challenge based around that. I've gone to SA myself to shoot PRS.


I think the Firearms Act in all states gives that power to refuse a licence because of "public safety", but such refusal can be appealed.

In the eighties and nineties my mate was shooting competitions in SA and owned a .223 AAA SAR there that was illegal to own in WA. I think I only ever did one interstate IPSC shoot - in Darwin while I was working up in the Kimberley. I did shoot IPSC National comps when they were held in Perth though.
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by geoff » 25 Jan 2023, 9:40 pm

Toadstool wrote:Let me get this right.

In WA you can get a property letter for some place you won't shoot at.

And then it's LEGAL to shoot those rifles on your property?

I don't mean a suburban backyard. More like a 15 or so acres little farm. So by law (personal opinion aside), this would be completely fine?


Generally speaking, if you have no conditions such as club or occupational use, it is legal to shoot your firearms on any WA property you have permission from the owner or occupier to do so on (these days they put "Rec hunt and hoot - NO CONDITION) on your licence against these firearms. There is no requirement for that permission to be in the written form, either.

There's a few caveats to that, such as being illegal to discharge a firearm in a manner that causes fear to the public (and this is the offence you might get done for on a small hobby block if your neighbours suck ass).

Once you've got the licence for the firearm, the property letter may as well cease to exist
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by Toadstool » 27 Jan 2023, 12:53 pm

geoff wrote:
Toadstool wrote:Let me get this right.
There's a few caveats to that, such as being illegal to discharge a firearm in a manner that causes fear to the public (and this is the offence you might get done for on a small hobby block if your neighbours suck ass).


Wow, that sounds like a law that can be abused. Surely that would only fly if maybe you were shooting towards that neighbors property. But I'm guessing wankers would use it even if your wern't because the sound scares them right? Need some kinda science fiction device to reduce the sound of gunshots. I bet once that's figured out our government will make it mandatory so everyones happy!
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Re: Moving to western australia and transferring firearm lic

Post by bladeracer » 27 Jan 2023, 2:16 pm

Toadstool wrote:Wow, that sounds like a law that can be abused. Surely that would only fly if maybe you were shooting towards that neighbors property. But I'm guessing wankers would use it even if your wern't because the sound scares them right? Need some kinda science fiction device to reduce the sound of gunshots. I bet once that's figured out our government will make it mandatory so everyones happy!


As far as WA Police are concerned the fact that you have an interest in firearms already makes you a threat to public safety, and a very specific threat to Police - as stated by the WA Police Union many years ago. A couple of officer shootings spring to mind while I was in Perth, but I don't think the offenders were licenced and none of the officers were killed.

WA Police were very good, at least up until they imported a whole pile of pommie rozzers who had no idea what our laws were. Even Firearms branch were actually on-side with shooters back in the nineties and were terrific to deal with (though not as good as I've found in Victoria where hunting is still considered a perfectly respectable pastime). Nowadays I could never recommend anybody visit WA as a gun owner.

The last WA officer listed on the Honour Role as being "shot" was Laurence Buzza in 1940. The most recent officers listed as "Murdered" (requiring further investigation to reveal that they were shot), were two officers killed in 1979 (one by a 16-year-old girl with a semi-auto .22 rifle). Before that we go back to 1968 when a constable was murdered with a rifle trying to apprehend a "Domestic" offender. Before that was 1963 in another "domestic" shooting. In sixty years, 36 WA officers have died on duty, five died in air accidents, one was murdered by a bomb in Adelaide, 25 were killed in traffic incidents, one recruit died due to complications of a virus during training, five have been killed by shooters, some of whom will probably have been licenced. Traffic accidents are the biggest danger facing WA Police.
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