I can hopefully add some clarity to this as I'm pretty familiar with the WA Firearms Act.
Unfortunately the WA act is vague if not totally devoid of information on temporary storage (e.g. while travelling) and especially on the transportation of firearms themselves.
Duncan is in fact correct (as well as the information that Feedr posted from the SSAA) in the sense that there are no
specific regulations or prohibitions on traveling with a firearms, or the transportation of one. Literally, the words travel, transport, carriage etc. do not appear in the act.
There is nothing along the lines of "while transporting firearms they must be x, y or z." Likewise there is nothing
specific about managing firearms while staying in temporary accommodation such as a motel, or camping, where no fixed storage facility is available.
What
is in the Act, is a number of broader regulations which may be applied in different scenarios. The WA Act is quite reliant on interpretations of these regulations in a given situation rather than specifics.
Duncan has decided to drop out of the conversation so I won't go on about that, just to say though it would seem his interpretations of the Act vary from the popular consensus.
Here is a link to the full act:
https://www.slp.wa.gov.au/pco/prod/file ... penElement but I'll post a few excerpts from related to the above.
s.23 9
"take all reasonable precautions to ensure its safe keeping"
"take all reasonable precautions to prevent the same, permits a young person under the age of 18 years to have unlawful possession of a firearm"
s. 24 2
A member of the Police Force may seize and take possession of any firearm or ammunition that is in the possession of a person, whether or not the person is licensed or otherwise authorised to possess it if, in the opinion of the member of the Police Force — (a) possession of it by that person may result in harm being suffered by any person; or
As annoying as the vagary can often be, the fact of the matter is the law isn't absolute, it is open to interpretation. The best you can do is exercise common sense and take all reasonable steps you're able to.
When travelling I'd ask myself the following (and these are my answers).
Is it reasonable to leave a firearm in a locked car while you're asleep in the motel? In my opinion no.
Is taking it into the motel room with you while you sleep in the same room taking all reasonable precautions you can? I would say yes.
Is it reasonable to leave a firearm in a locked car in the bush while you camp next to it? I'd say yes. Same goes for sleeping with it in your tent or swag.
Is sleeping with a loaded firearm taking all reasonable precautions? Could it result in harm being suffered by any person? I think most people would say this is not good practice at least.
I would say the same as above for driving with a loaded firearm in a vehicle.
"Reasonable" is the key word here.
As a hypothetical, lets say you're travelling with a rifle, you have a bolt lock through it, the bolt is removed, and ammunition is stored separately in a locked container. You check into a motel and keep the firearm and ammunition in the room with you at all times. What more could the Police reasonably expect you to do? Carry a safe with you and install and remove it everywhere you stop? Of course not.
As I said above, the best you can do is exercise common sense and take all reasonable steps you're able to. Don't half ass safe guarding your gear and don't be lazy with unloading and securing ammunition. If it takes a few extra minutes to separate it, lock it, or take it somewhere with you, do it. With that mentality you should be fine.