Early mailout of firearms license renewals

May 6, 2021 / Uncategorized

If you possess a current Tasmanian firearms licence that expires any time between now and August 2023, you will receive your licence renewal early.

Tasmania Police are expecting to receive more than 16,000 licence renewals between now and the end of 2022. This is almost three times the number received in any other year in the five year licence cycle.

More staff are being recruited and trained to manage the increased workload so that licence holders do not have to wait unreasonably for their new licence cards. We understand that sometimes this can impact on your ability to purchase new firearms and ammunition.

Tasmania Police is encouraging firearms licence holders to lodge their licence paperwork early with Service Tasmania to avoid delays.

Licence expiry dates and lengths of licences will not be affected by early renewal.

Please do not forget to attach proof for each genuine reason for holding a licence. The three most common are listed below:

For Genuine Reason 1 – Sport or Target Shooting, include a copy of your club membership card, or a membership letter from the club on their letterhead, which confirms the following information:

  • That you are a current financial member of the club;
  • The date of your membership expiry;
  • How long you’ve been a member of that club, and;
  • Confirmation that the club runs competitions and activities for the same category of firearms that you are licensed to possess and use.

For Genuine Reason 2 – Recreational Hunting or Vermin Control, include a document providing written authority to shoot particular animals or vermin on specified land. The document must be from the owner of that land where the person will shoot (this could be the licence holder themselves); the Director of National Parks and Wildlife; or The Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Timber Tasmania (previously Forestry). The document must contain the following information:

  • the applicant’s full name and address (who is permitted to do the shooting);
  • a clear statement that they are allowed to shoot on that land; if it is government property the letter must be on official letterhead; if on private property the property owner’s full name, signature and contact details.
  • Where possible, to assist Firearms Services staff it would be desirable to include details such as the size, location, lot number on a plan (if relevant) and crops or stock that are present on this land.

For Genuine Reason 3 – Primary Production, if you are renewing an existing licence endorsed with this genuine reason, (including for a Category C Primary Production firearms licence) and your circumstances have not changed, you only need to provide a council rates notice in your name to prove you are still the owner of the relevant land, or a rental/lease agreement if leasing land for this purpose. If any of your circumstances have changed, but you are still regularly engaged in a business of primary production, you are required to provide a new primary production statutory declaration (available from our website) declaring the current information and also the Category C Primary Production statutory declaration if you have Category C endorsed on your licence.

If you are renewing your licence as an employee of a primary producer, you must provide a new statutory declaration (available from our website) completed by your employer stating the primary production business and name you as their employee and what tasks you complete that require the use of a firearm.

For more information please: