genuine reason/mandatory requirements question

[rossfrb]

So I've added target shooting as an additional genuine reason via the nsw gunsafe portal some months back. At the same time updated my SSAA membership to reflect same.
The SSAA change was reflected almost immediately on my SSAA membership.
I checked today and my genuine reason is still only rec hunting/vermin control on the nsw gun safe portal.
Received an email from SSAA yesterday noting I have not met my mandatory requirements for target shooting with 2 and a bit months left in the financial year.

I had recently attended the Sydney International Shooting Centre and told them I had added target shooting as an additional genuine reason and was wondering whether my attendance could be recorded under that reason and was told no, it had to be rec/hunter.

Is it true that I cannot 'target shoot' until i have that as a genuine reason on my current license?
Or rephrased another way - there is no way I can begin to meet the mandatory participation requirement for having target shooting on my license until NSW registry have it listed?
cheers
rb

[Wapiti]

Talk about red tape in NSW tying decent people's hands behind their backs.
Oh but the terrorist-brides are on their way back, no problem with that.

[Ratsmitglied]

Until FAR has added target as your genuine reason they won't care. SSAA uses it's own internal database to determine who gets an email about being their attendance requirements, based on what you have signed up for with them.

Attendance is also pro-rata, so if target was added to your licence today you'd have one mandatory attendance for this year (or, perhaps none, only FAR can say for sure).

In terms of recording attendance, that's a SSAA record, and typically they'll only allow you to record attendances based on your licence reasons, although some branches may do things differently.

So, short answer is, until your licence is updated you have no mandatory attendance for target

[Fester]

Sounds like typical SSAA and FAR red tape confusion; they are good at that.

In the early days, the SISC expected you to have target on the license to shoot there, gun clubs eh.
It's a great place for quiet 22 shooting and clay shooting without all the club Fudds or comp crap.

Just wait until July, then stick those attendance stickers onto an A4 sheet to send a copy to the Oran Park SSAA office
It went smoothly for me when I stopped using their ranges as they went all Fudd-like.
I shoot for enjoyment, not misery.

[Bugman]

This OP has been a timely reminder for me with regards to SSAA. On the rear of my licence I have AB&H. The H pertains to the pistol club I belong to, no problem here. The AB was supposed to refer to the SSAA for genuine reason, as target shooting, which for ABH.
I checked with SSAA and all they had was hunting on my membership. This has not been the case for over 10 years.
Now my point is this, since the Dimm Minns mob has had NSW FAR reclassify, declassify, denounce etc reasons for having a firearms licence, if they ran a check for my AB, then I would be up sh*t creek as hunting is apparently no longer a valid reason to own a long arm here in NSW. I have not been hunting for many years, due to ill health.
Every year, when I renewed my SSAA membership, I definately remeber just ticking the Target Shooting box.
So what went wrong? Buggered if I know.
It does appear that SSAA does have a Hunting and Target shooting membership section, but someone must have entered the wrong info their end, maybe?

[Ratsmitglied]

I had heard that FAR was planning to start running audits of genuine reasons, club memberships etc. starting from the end of the current reporting period...but I don't think that's likely to happen considering they've already got more work than the staff can handle

I would guess that something screwed up with the SSAA membership database and will need to be manually fixed. I do know a few people who've found a similar issue and a quick call/email to SSAA NSW membership team got it sorted out very quickly

[Biscuits]

Related question.

I have 10 guns registered to me and vermin control/hunting was the reason on the PTA.

I have target on my licence.

Does it matter what the reason for acquisition given on the PTA? Are guns registered as target guns or hunting guns, or are they just guns?

[Pink Panther]

Rossfrb,

I'm in exactly the same boat as you.

I applied to FAR to add Target Shooting as a Genuine Reason on 15 December 2025. 153 days later, the application has still not been determined. I got in touch with SSAA in late December and they updated my registered activities to include Target Shooting. I have recently received from SSAA a reminder that I need to make sure that my mandatory attendances - 2 for hunting, 4 for target - have been met. If not I understand that SSAA is required to advise FAR that I have not met the mandatory requirements.

We all know that FAR goes for easy targets and could easily revoke someone's licence for either (a) not meeting their mandatory attendance requirements or (b) undertaking an activity (eg target shooting) if it is undertaken when not an approved genuine reason. So I have just asked SSAA to remove Target Shooting from my registered activities until such time as FAR has added it to my Genuine Reasons.

You would think that FAR could deal with a simple issue of adding a pretty innocuous Genuine Reason with minimal delay. Interestingly (or bizarrely?) my wife's application for a Firearms Licence, lodged well after my application to add a Genuine Reason, has recently been approved!

I would be interested to hear of others experiences in this area.

[alexjones]

Rossfrb,

I'm in exactly the same boat as you.

I applied to FAR to add Target Shooting as a Genuine Reason on 15 December 2025. 153 days later, the application has still not been determined. I got in touch with SSAA in late December and they updated my registered activities to include Target Shooting. I have recently received from SSAA a reminder that I need to make sure that my mandatory attendances - 2 for hunting, 4 for target - have been met. If not I understand that SSAA is required to advise FAR that I have not met the mandatory requirements.

We all know that FAR goes for easy targets and could easily revoke someone's licence for either (a) not meeting their mandatory attendance requirements or (b) undertaking an activity (eg target shooting) if it is undertaken when not an approved genuine reason. So I have just asked SSAA to remove Target Shooting from my registered activities until such time as FAR has added it to my Genuine Reasons.

You would think that FAR could deal with a simple issue of adding a pretty innocuous Genuine Reason with minimal delay. Interestingly (or bizarrely?) my wife's application for a Firearms Licence, lodged well after my application to add a Genuine Reason, has recently been approved!

I would be interested to hear of others experiences in this area.

In the past when I have had delays with licensing I speak to my local MP and they contact them on my behalf. I also email the police minister about the delay.


Contact your local MP, make them do their job and work on your behalf. I had my PTA approved at 630am on a Saturday morning after complaining to the police minister and my local MP.

630am on a Saturday morning I received the email of a PTA approval. I could not believe public servants even work on a Saturday, let alone that early.