Further changes to the Arms Act 1983 come into force on 24 June and regulations are required to support them, with proposals open for consultation and input this week. 

Anybody interested is invited to make a submission.

“The aim of the public consultation is to give people an opportunity to understand the impacts of the proposals and provide feedback to ensure the regulations are fit for purpose,” says Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming.

“There have been significant changes to the Arms Act over the past two years, with more aspects still to come into force.

“To best enable their intent to make our communities safer, while enabling legitimate use of firearms, we need to make sure we get the supporting regulations right.

“The regulations will help specify how Police, as the regulator of the Arms Act, make the law work in practice, so are an important step in implementing the new laws.

“We want to test the proposed regulations with our firearms communities as these laws will impact on them the most.

“So it’s important they look at the proposals and have their say.

“We are already engaging with our existing partners and this process provides those interested from the wider community to contribute as well,” says Deputy Commissioner McSkimming.

The majority of the proposals are technical and aimed at those who already have a defined role in the system, such as licensed firearms dealers.

However, they also include proposals based off a recommendation from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on Christchurch Mosques on 15 March 2019; Applicants should be required to produce police or criminal history checks from countries in which they have previously resided; and Firearms Vetting Officers should interview family members or other close connections in other countries using technology if the applicant does not have near relatives or close associates living in New Zealand.

The regulation proposals relate to:

• types of, and conditions on, dealer licenses
• security for firearms
• ammunition sales requirements
• marking of firearm parts
• pistol carbine conversion kits
• mail and internet orders
• review of decisions to refuse to issue a firearms licence or revoke a licence
• add processes and detail to the vetting requirements for applicants who have lived outside of New Zealand for substantial periods of time and and introducing new criteria for finding that a person is not fit and proper to be in possession of a firearm to respond to the Royal Commission recommendations.

Submissions will help Police decide whether the proposals meet the objectives of the legislation, and if not, how they may be amended.

The consultation document and template for public submissions can be found on the Police website at:  www.police.govt.nz/consultation-regulations  

Submissions are open until 25 April 2021 and can be sent to:

[email protected] with the subject line Proposals for new Regulations under the Arms Act; or

Firearms Policy and Partnerships, 13th floor, Police National Headquarters, PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140

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