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Firearms Policy Unit

The Firearms Policy Unit is responsible for developing Australian Government policy on firearms and pursuing national consistency among State and Territory approaches to firearms policy and the control of prohibited firearms.

The Unit sits within the National Law Enforcement Policy Branch and serves a number of functions in pursuit of this aim, including:

• Providing advice within the Department, to other Commonwealth agencies and to the Australian Government on national firearms issues and working with State and Territory agencies to deliver better outcomes in the national management of firearms.
• Providing Secretariat and Australian Government representative on the multijurisdictional Firearms Policy Working Group (FPWG) which reports to the Ministerial Council on Police and Emergency Management - Police. The FPWG includes senior representatives from each State and Territory and officers from the Australian Customs Service, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), the Australian Crime Commission, the Defence Export Control Office and CrimTrac.
• Contributing to the presentation of Australia’s firearms policies in relevant international forums and initiatives, including: the UN Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, the UN Small Arms Programme of Action, and the United Nations Marking and Tracing Instrument.

Key activities for the Unit currently include:

• Implementation of measures to improve the national management of firearms and enhance information sharing across domestic jurisdictional borders.
• Development of nationally consistent approaches to the regulation for firearms manufacturing and film armoury.
• Funding theft research by the AIC to identify characteristics of firearms theft that will help in reducing incidences of firearms theft.

The Unit also processes applications for permission to import firearms and works closely with the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Customs Service and the Defence Export Control Office in managing the movement of firearms across the border.

Contact the Firearms Policy Unit