WA Licensing Times

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

WA Licensing Times

Post by ponkychonk » 30 May 2018, 7:38 pm

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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by Flyer » 31 May 2018, 3:01 am

Good luck, mate. My additional has been in for six weeks now, and all my paperwork was in order.

When you pay a $180 application fee - probably the most expensive in Australia - to wait six weeks or more for it to be processed - probably the longest process time in Australia - you have to ask the question: what the hell do we get for our money?

Only two years ago, Police Licensing said they had over-hauled their system to speed the process up. And at one point, applications were taking around two weeks - which is reasonable.

Just what has happened since, I fail to understand. When I phoned to find out, I was told they "have a lot of applications".

If they have so many applications, then they're obviously also taking in a shed-load of money - money that could be used to pay for extra staff.

It's no good blaming the people at the coal-face, either; it doesn't speed things up, and simply points to a lack of resources that affects everyone involved.


EDIT: OK, I've just seen how long it takes in Qld, so maybe we aren't the slowest in the nation. But I believe they pay $30 for their applications - please correct me if I'm wrong.
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by Daddybang » 31 May 2018, 6:21 am

Flyer wrote:Good luck, mate. My additional has been in for six weeks now, and all my paperwork was in order.

When you pay a $180 application fee - probably the most expensive in Australia - to wait six weeks or more for it to be processed - probably the longest process time in Australia - you have to ask the question: what the hell do we get for our money?

Only two years ago, Police Licensing said they had over-hauled their system to speed the process up. And at one point, applications were taking around two weeks - which is reasonable.

Just what has happened since, I fail to understand. When I phoned to find out, I was told they "have a lot of applications".

If they have so many applications, then they're obviously also taking in a shed-load of money - money that could be used to pay for extra staff.

It's no good blaming the people at the coal-face, either; it doesn't speed things up, and simply points to a lack of resources that affects everyone involved.


EDIT: OK, I've just seen how long it takes in Qld, so maybe we aren't the slowest in the nation. But I believe they pay $30 for their applications - please correct me if I'm wrong.


Yep $30 for a pta
Second and subsequent pta around two weeks some are getting them back in a couple of days which is great but wlb is not consistent. . According to the owner of my lgs if you put a serial number on the app for a pta they do a background check on it which slows the process down. $180 is just highway effin robbery!!! :thumbsdown: :drinks:
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by Flyer » 31 May 2018, 1:40 pm

OK, so $30 and two weeks for an additional PTA - that certainly puts things into perspective.
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by YoungSC » 31 May 2018, 2:09 pm

I paid my $180 on the 30/4 and got my paperwork back on 18/5, so roughly 3 weeks.
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by ponkychonk » 31 May 2018, 2:49 pm

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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by Flyer » 31 May 2018, 5:29 pm

OK, I'm going to have to eat some humble pie. I found out today the dealer put the wrong number on one of my serviceability certificates, so that's what was causing the hold-up. Frustrating, yes, but not the fault of those processing the application.
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by ponkychonk » 31 May 2018, 5:54 pm

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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by YoungSC » 31 May 2018, 6:41 pm

ponkychonk wrote:
YoungSC wrote:I paid my $180 on the 30/4 and got my paperwork back on 18/5, so roughly 3 weeks.


That seems rather reasonable. How many additionals was it? Anything special/funny about them? Already own the same calibre/s prior to the additional?


My application included a property letter, so not sure if that makes a difference.
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by ponkychonk » 31 May 2018, 6:50 pm

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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by Flyer » 31 May 2018, 7:25 pm

ponkychonk wrote:How did you find out?

I spoke to them again today to ask what the hold-up was. This is the first I knew of the serial number issue, but it obviously explained what was going on.

ponkychonk wrote:My additional had three guns on it (an air rifle, a .223 and a .357 winchester) and I'm worried that might annoy them

If you've met all the legal requirements, then they can't deny you. You simply have to justify why you need the firearm and why another firearm in your possession cannot humanely do the job.

As for the number of firearms, as long as you can justify each and every one, you can apply for as many as you like.

In fact, if you're going to pay $180 per application, then that's a great incentive to add as many as you can in one go. I really needed a new .22, but I figured if I'm going to pay that much money, I might as well bring forward a couple of other purchases, so I also put three rifles on my application to save money on fees.
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by Bruiser64 » 01 Jun 2018, 9:25 am

I read this thread with interest as I am hoping to lodge an application for my additional firearm soon. 2 to 3 weeks would be good as a processing time. I know what you mean about putting extra firearms on the application to amorttise the costs. That was in part my motivation with my previous application. Which is a classic example of the law of unintended consequences.

It is true there is no statutory limit on the amount of firearms you can own in WA. The limit is the one imposed by each owner’s ability to demonstrate “genuine need”. After a while it will become difficult to convince WAPOL that you need an extra firearm if you have a lot across a range of calibres.
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by Flyer » 01 Jun 2018, 8:17 pm

Well, my humble pie is starting to taste a lot better now my application has been approved. :lol:

Let's hope your paperwork is in order and things don't take as long as mine!
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by ponkychonk » 06 Jun 2018, 7:02 pm

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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by ponkychonk » 13 Jun 2018, 1:40 pm

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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by Flyer » 13 Jun 2018, 4:03 pm

That seems to be about right.
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by Bruiser64 » 15 Jun 2018, 10:17 pm

I lodged an application to add a .204 to my licence 2 weeks ago. I came home today and the updated licence was in the letterbox. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by kb1 » 19 Jun 2018, 9:34 am

i had my wifes firearms co licenced to my own cost 180 per firearm , as they are open class i was made to produce a property letter although we shoot on the same place together. the price is disgusting !!! but i do have to say it only took 2 to 3 weeks to have it official which is as good as your going to get it over here.
as one fellow stated earlier on this issue , if you sit back and think how much money the fees are generating its mind blowing.
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by ponkychonk » 11 Jul 2018, 2:05 am

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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by rinkydink » 12 Jul 2018, 1:06 am

Crikey mate! I've been waiting since April, cobbas don't know a pine cone from a donkey turd. Stay strong and keep up the fight!
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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by ponkychonk » 19 Jul 2018, 6:26 pm

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Re: WA Licensing Times

Post by glenn777 » 14 Aug 2018, 2:36 pm

Applied for my original on 12 July got my approval pending safe stat dec on 10 Aug in the mail.
Sent all my safe details away and it's been fully approved online today.

Can't complain really pretty much 5 weeks all up.
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