NSW new licence application how long?

Questions about New South Wales gun and ammunition laws. NSW Firearms Act 1996.

NSW new licence application how long?

Post by mickyj » 22 Sep 2018, 4:23 pm

hi all,
My new application for a A/B licence was marked as received by FAR on 13th August - 40 days ago. How long do you think i will have to wait until i get my licence?

cheers
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by MrMickyD » 23 Sep 2018, 5:40 pm

Mandatory 28 day cooling off period once they take your money, then God only knows .
Always check all your paper work over real good before you send it and dont leave anything out thats needed it just slows things up even more.
One thing being a licenced shooter in this country teaches you is patience youll need it in abundance.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by 2freeq » 23 Sep 2018, 6:58 pm

Just did my license application recently 29th May they marked my license received and 23rd July i received my license card in the mail. First PTA took same amount of time on top of license.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by GojiraSteve » 19 Oct 2018, 10:08 am

Mine's a re-application after being out of the sport since 2009. So background check aside just a rubber-stamp job.

Posted on 10/10, and it still hasn't even shown up as received on the online portal. Called the registry and they advised to wait another ten days and call for replacement forms because if its not up by then it definitely got lost in the mail. Also processing times are running to 8-12 weeks at the moment.

So much for being exempt from the 28 day cooling off period!
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by mickyj » 25 Oct 2018, 2:30 pm

77 days and still waiting!
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by Gaznazdiak » 25 Oct 2018, 2:54 pm

mickyj wrote:77 days and still waiting!


That's piss poor service.

I'd bet if you asked why, you would get the "workload" excuse.

One would excused for thinking they only had two people employed at the registry.

If the number of people applying in NSW was so great that it took more than two and a half months to process each applicant, shooter numbers would be booming and that would be another beatup on 4 Corners.

Just more proof of a deliberate policy to make the whole concept of being a law abiding firearms owner as onerous as possible.

They not only persecute us with ridiculous, illogical restrictions imposed for their own sake, like with suppressors, but they even drag their feet with common sense regulations like licensing.

Bureaucratic bastardry.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by PCHammond » 27 Oct 2018, 5:21 pm

It took over 2 months for them to send me my application form, and it's been just over 2 months since I sent the application in.

Are they intentionally trying to kill shooting as a sport? I would imagine someone who was only kinda interested would give up after all this waiting.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by Gaznazdiak » 27 Oct 2018, 6:58 pm

That's it in a nutshell PCH.
The rules are set up to make things as discouraging as possible and I'd bet both my plums the staff are told to drag their feet in every way possible.

Both sides want us totally disarmed but both are too duplicitous to admit it.

As seen with the Tasmanian election, they will make promises they have not the slightest intention of keeping, then blame public backlash for reneging.

They're all cunning stunts.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by GojiraSteve » 29 Oct 2018, 3:58 pm

Does anyone have any look-in on scanning timeframes?
I sent my app forms in by snail mail 19days ago (I know, I know, should've shelled out for registered/express post) and they're still not showing as received meaning they haven't even been scanned by the mailroom yet.
They couldn't possibly be THAT slow could they?
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by Gaznazdiak » 29 Oct 2018, 5:44 pm

GojiraSteve wrote:They couldn't possibly be THAT slow could they?


:lol: :lol: :clap:

I love your sense of humor :thumbsup:
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by mickyj » 30 Oct 2018, 2:48 pm

11 and a bit weeks and still waiting...Has anyone else waited that long to have their licence application processed?
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by GojiraSteve » 30 Oct 2018, 3:23 pm

mickyj wrote:11 and a bit weeks and still waiting...Has anyone else waited that long to have their licence application processed?


I'll keep ya posted on mine. but do you remember how long it took before the registry marked it as received?
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by mickyj » 30 Oct 2018, 3:35 pm

GojiraSteve wrote:
mickyj wrote:11 and a bit weeks and still waiting...Has anyone else waited that long to have their licence application processed?


I'll keep ya posted on mine. but do you remember how long it took before the registry marked it as received?


according to my records mailed application 7th August marked as received by FAR 13th August. All downhill from there.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by GojiraSteve » 02 Nov 2018, 1:12 pm

For anyone following this, my app just got marked as received. That's 23 days from posting the form, to the mailroom at the registry getting around to scanning it onto the system.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by Gaznazdiak » 02 Nov 2018, 2:12 pm

Mate, that's pathetic.

Even factoring in Austpost's determination to live up to the moniker "snailmail", that would mean registry have received it and sat on it for a fortnight.

Anybody know if firearms registry is covered by any Ombudsman?

I just had a look if the NSW Ombudsman covers it, and it seems they might as they cover police, but nothing definitive.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by mickyj » 04 Nov 2018, 8:47 pm

Gaznazdiak wrote:Mate, that's pathetic.

Even factoring in Austpost's determination to live up to the moniker "snailmail", that would mean registry have received it and sat on it for a fortnight.

Anybody know if firearms registry is covered by any Ombudsman?

I just had a look if the NSW Ombudsman covers it, and it seems they might as they cover police, but nothing definitive.



Forget about it. In this country the only rights we have is what parliament allots us as they see fit. Without hard rights inserted into our “constitution” we are slaves temporarily let off our leash.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by mickyj » 04 Nov 2018, 8:55 pm

Gaznazdiak wrote:Mate, that's pathetic.

Even factoring in Austpost's determination to live up to the moniker "snailmail", that would mean registry have received it and sat on it for a fortnight.

Anybody know if firearms registry is covered by any Ombudsman?

I just had a look if the NSW Ombudsman covers it, and it seems they might as they cover police, but nothing definitive.



Forget about it. In this country the only rights we have is what parliament allots us as they see fit. Without hard rights inserted into our “constitution” we are slaves temporarily let off our leash.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by JWD40 » 05 Nov 2018, 6:30 pm

I requested my application papers on the 18th of Aug via their online portal
I completed my safe handling course on the 20th (or around then)
I then waited the 15 business days they'd mentioned it would take.
I hadn't received them, so i gave them a call on the 7th of September.
It was sitting in limbo (their words), so the lady processed it and had it sent out.
I received the papers around the 17th of September (a further 5-6 business days later)
I posted the filled out application the following day (18th)
They acknowledged receipt of the papers on the 4th of Oct (12 business days later)

So... so far..

20 business days to receive paperwork
12 business days to open my mail and register it in the system
22 business days and counting (over 28 calendar days)

I've always heard they were slow... but in their defence, in the wake of the recent John Edwards incident, the FAR has been shaken up a bit and as a result has been left short staffed. The currently slowdown hasn't specifically been a result of increased licence applications or deliberate government bureaucracy. It's that they've lost a lot of people. Or so I've been told by someone who should be in the know.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by GojiraSteve » 06 Nov 2018, 9:22 am

JWD40 wrote:I but in their defence, in the wake of the recent John Edwards incident, the FAR has been shaken up a bit and as a result has been left short staffed. The currently slowdown hasn't specifically been a result of increased licence applications or deliberate government bureaucracy. It's that they've lost a lot of people. Or so I've been told by someone who should be in the know.


In defence of the run-of-the-mill employees sure. But you could argue that the fact that they're perpetually understaffed contributed greatly to John Edwards slipping through the cracks.
And the management team "solved" that problem by LOWERING staffing levels!? Seems counter intuitive to me.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by JWD40 » 06 Nov 2018, 11:54 am

GojiraSteve wrote:In defence of the run-of-the-mill employees sure. But you could argue that the fact that they're perpetually understaffed contributed greatly to John Edwards slipping through the cracks.
And the management team "solved" that problem by LOWERING staffing levels!? Seems counter intuitive to me.


I won't argue about perpetually being understaffed. I agree with it. I'm in favor for it being mostly automated.
Computers will generally give a faster and more consistent outcome, leaving employees to spend more time assessing the people the computer doesn't like.

As for John Edwards, I don't know much about how he actually got issued a firearm. From what I've read, he was initially refused based on a AVO put on him 10 years prier. He then requested a commissioners permit to bypass the restriction. Due to AVO being a decade old, they decided he wasn't a risk. Was it the right decision? i think it's too easy to say "obviously not!" But these decisions aren't always easy and we don't have all the facts.

I find it hard to believe anyone emotionally motivated to commit murder would wait half a year to buy a gun when they could achieve the same devastation in a more discreet manner with a knife. I could be totally wrong, but my gut is telling me that he actually just wanted to shoot a gun, and it was that simple.
But after he had the gun, it became convenience...

Perhaps based off his historical AVO they should have got in contact with people who know him, to better asses his mental state. Or maybe they already did ? I'd doubt it, highly doubt it. But as i said, we don't know all the facts. And if he hadn't had an AVO from 10 years ago, he wouldn't have had any trouble in getting a gun in the first place and most likely would have committed the crime anyway.

From what I've been told, the reduction in staff was more voluntary rather than sackings. I've been told this in good faith so i don't want to say too much. But the lack of staff doesn't seem to have been anything intentional. As far as i last heard, there currently isn't a verdict about how things happened, or any planned penalty (such as deliberate delays) to applicants.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by zhuk » 07 Nov 2018, 4:03 am

When I rang FAR last Friday it was denied that there any staff cuts had occurred at all ...but only that "lots more people are getting licences/PTAs"

To the extent we are seeing these kinds of slowdowns...more than 2 weeks for my pta and no receipt yet? ha if only that were true lol
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by JWD40 » 07 Nov 2018, 6:46 am

zhuk wrote:When I rang FAR last Friday it was denied that there any staff cuts had occurred at all ...but only that "lots more people are getting licences/PTAs"


I've been told, that if asked, they are to deny anything about being short staffed. They were meant to say something instead, I can't remember exactly. But it was something along the lines of "we've received an unusually high volume of applications"

I want to re-affirm that i don't know this information first hand. It's just something I've been told off someone who should know what's going on and I've taken their word for it.

Edit: just to add to this, the person i know also said there hadn't been 'staff cuts' as such. That the loss in people had been voluntary departure. They also didn't mention quantity of departure. i.e. one person, or many people. But based off the context, it sounded like it was the cause of the delays.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by zhuk » 07 Nov 2018, 11:10 pm

JWD40 wrote:
zhuk wrote:When I rang FAR last Friday it was denied that there any staff cuts had occurred at all ...but only that "lots more people are getting licences/PTAs"


I've been told, that if asked, they are to deny anything about being short staffed. They were meant to say something instead, I can't remember exactly. But it was something along the lines of "we've received an unusually high volume of applications"

I want to re-affirm that i don't know this information first hand. It's just something I've been told off someone who should know what's going on and I've taken their word for it.

Edit: just to add to this, the person i know also said there hadn't been 'staff cuts' as such. That the loss in people had been voluntary departure. They also didn't mention quantity of departure. i.e. one person, or many people. But based off the context, it sounded like it was the cause of the delays.



I don't doubt at all that they've been instructed to give that line. But the slowdown as it seems to be is only very recent I had another PTA received on Sep 27, issued on Oct 3 and received 2 days later. Fairly fast for a paper application. So everything seems to have banked right up from the end of October onwards.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by JWD40 » 08 Nov 2018, 6:27 am

zhuk wrote:
I don't doubt at all that they've been instructed to give that line. But the slowdown as it seems to be is only very recent I had another PTA received on Sep 27, issued on Oct 3 and received 2 days later. Fairly fast for a paper application. So everything seems to have banked right up from the end of October onward.


Interesting...
When it comes to licencing, the slowdown clearly started around early July and seems to be taking twice as long as normal.
Perhaps there are two different ques ?, or maybe they were prioritising PTA's, and in the last month have stopped prioritising. I dono, at this point i'm just guessing.

When did you apply/receive your licence zhuk ? Was it this year, or you've had it for a while and just applying for PTA. (interested in getting more time frames from people, as so far there is only 3-4 on this post that have mentioned their experience with licence application.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by zhuk » 08 Nov 2018, 7:24 am

JWD40 wrote:
zhuk wrote:
I don't doubt at all that they've been instructed to give that line. But the slowdown as it seems to be is only very recent I had another PTA received on Sep 27, issued on Oct 3 and received 2 days later. Fairly fast for a paper application. So everything seems to have banked right up from the end of October onward.


Interesting...
When it comes to licencing, the slowdown clearly started around early July and seems to be taking twice as long as normal.
Perhaps there are two different ques ?, or maybe they were prioritising PTA's, and in the last month have stopped prioritising. I dono, at this point i'm just guessing.

When did you apply/receive your licence zhuk ? Was it this year, or you've had it for a while and just applying for PTA. (interested in getting more time frames from people, as so far there is only 3-4 on this post that have mentioned their experience with licence application.


Hey JWD, apologies if I've semi-derailed this thread on that score!

Yes it's just the PTA application; I have done many, many lol of them since I was licensed in 2009. But none hadn't been received by the 2 1/2 week mark as is the current case. I'd imagine there would definitely be two queues re licences and PTAs, since the first involves not only the cooling-off period but Federal police checks etc. There's been a changeover of the FAR director recently as well which might have thrown a spanner in the bureaucratic works, but that doesn't explain why licences have been double the time-length since July....and I thought waiting 6 weeks was long enough :P
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by JWD40 » 08 Nov 2018, 2:12 pm

zhuk wrote:Hey JWD, apologies if I've semi-derailed this thread on that score!


No apologies needed, i think it's all within the the OP's original intent.
I'm also on a slight tangent from the OP, tracking peoples applications for comparison.

zhuk wrote:There's been a changeover of the FAR director recently as well which might have thrown a spanner in the bureaucratic works


Is that so! I hope they plan to finish off this new Service NSW system. I also hope that the new system is as good as it could be.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by zhuk » 08 Nov 2018, 8:51 pm

JWD40 wrote:
Is that so! I hope they plan to finish off this new Service NSW system. I also hope that the new system is as good as it could be.



According to what I've read on australianhunting.net, yeah mate. And absolutely agree...hey if we can eventually have a system even vaguely close to VIC or QLD in the end that will be a long­­­­­­­-deserved win all round :)
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by Wonky » 14 Nov 2018, 11:08 am

Keeping an eye out here. Just getting back in to shooting, and waiting for licence.

My application date shows 28/08/18 so hopefully we see some movement soon.
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by zhuk » 15 Nov 2018, 5:53 am

JWD40 wrote:Perhaps based off his historical AVO they should have got in contact with people who know him, to better asses his mental state. Or maybe they already did ? I'd doubt it, highly doubt it. But as i said, we don't know all the facts. And if he hadn't had an AVO from 10 years ago, he wouldn't have had any trouble in getting a gun in the first place and most likely would have committed the crime anyway.

From what I've been told, the reduction in staff was more voluntary rather than sackings. I've been told this in good faith so i don't want to say too much. But the lack of staff doesn't seem to have been anything intentional. As far as i last heard, there currently isn't a verdict about how things happened, or any planned penalty (such as deliberate delays) to applicants.


This is where the system falls down, re assessing people. If we had a regimen like NZ where every licence applicant must provide referees and also receive a home visit from licensing police with a lengthy interview (plus family/spouse being interviewed separately to the applicant) those like Edwards wouldn't have stood a chance. Also the fact of a 10 yr moratorium time limit for AVOs (plus the same for convictions of violence involving firearms, and also terrorism convictions, rather unbelievably) is ludicrous...considering that in NSW if you have ever - not 10 years - received treatment for depression for example you must provide a psychiatrist's report attesting to your suitability for a licence. That is, if you don't lie on your application form in the first place. I was treated for depression as a teenager more than 35 years ago and could not with any kind of clear conscience provide false information on a govt document, even though people were telling me, "they'll never check" (which is true). When my first licence renewal came around I spent 3 1/2 months looking for a doctor who would be prepared to write a report for the Registry...as far as I know there is only one in the Sydney metro area who has done them previously and was prepared to provide one. Yes I did get a pretty much glowing report from him, but it cost me $900 for an hour long appt. And as my licence is up for renewal next year I can only wonder if I will have to go through all that again.

If we had the kind of system NZ has I think that would be a great improvement...and if we could have their MSSAs (military style semi automatics) even better :mrgreen: (Ok that last remark was obviously a joke, unfortunately lol)
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Re: NSW new licence application how long?

Post by JWD40 » 15 Nov 2018, 4:33 pm

Wonky wrote:Keeping an eye out here. Just getting back in to shooting, and waiting for licence.

My application date shows 28/08/18 so hopefully we see some movement soon.


Wonky, is that the date that FAR has listed online in the PTA/Licence Check ?
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