NSW authorities are issuing firearms licences to applicants claiming to be recreational hunters or sporting shooters without adequately verifying that these individuals actually engage in their claimed activities. This gap in the licensing process has emerged as a significant regulatory vulnerability, potentially allowing people with little genuine connection to the firearm community to access legally registered weapons.
In NSW, applicants for firearms licences must establish a "genuine reason" for ownership. Recreational hunting is a broad, loosely defined category that is difficult to regulate. Since December 2025, for licensees with Recreational Hunting/Vermin Control and Sport/Target Shooting, a genuine reason now requires them to be a club member. Yet the system does not reliably verify that licensees actually participate in club activities after receiving their permit.
Hunting club members must attend two hunting club events per year, whilst sport/target shooting club members must attend four shooting activities per year. However, the enforcement of these participation requirements has proven inconsistent. Applicants can submit club membership documentation at the time of application, but a criminologist at Macquarie University observed that the sheer volume of firearms currently in Australia makes it "highly unlikely that licensing police in the Sydney metropolitan area can keep up with the checking or securing of firearms", noting from a policing perspective there is "no way any police in Australia can keep up to date".
Researchers have noted that genuine reason provisions work well by requiring people to engage with the firearm-owning community, which stops so-called "lone-wolves" from buying a gun just to have one, and gun club members often serve as a crucial grassroots safety check, looking out for each other and reporting concerning shifts in attitudes to police. Yet this community-based safeguard only functions if applicants are genuinely embedded in those groups.
The practical challenge is substantial. The Firearms Registry is part of NSW Police Force and is responsible for administering firearms and prohibited weapons legislation, including licensing and compliance in NSW. But without regular audits of participation records or cross-checks with club management beyond initial application, there is little deterrent against claiming membership without genuine involvement. An applicant might obtain club membership temporarily to satisfy licensing requirements, then cease participation while retaining their firearms permit.
The NSW Government recognised these deficiencies following the Bondi Junction attack in December 2024. A comprehensive audit of existing firearms licences, prioritising higher-risk cases, has been announced, with licence holders now subject to scrutiny on reapplication every two years instead of five years. This tightened renewal cycle may improve oversight. However, the underlying issue remains: the Registry must develop better mechanisms to verify ongoing genuine participation rather than simply documenting initial club membership.
The tension here reflects a genuine complexity in firearms regulation. Legitimate hunters and sporting shooters are active, law-abiding members of their communities. But the system's reliance on documented club membership rather than verified participation creates an opportunity for those with different intentions to exploit the legal framework. Strengthening verification without burdening genuine enthusiasts requires clear definitions of what counts as participation and more frequent compliance checks coordinated between police and clubs themselves. Whether NSW Police has the resources to conduct such audits across all licence holders remains an open question.