QUEENSLAND

NOTE: Queensland is the only state in Australia where the Firearms Registry doesn’t administer the laws pertaining to ammunition collecting. This is covered by the Explosives Inspectorate, Safety and Health of the Department of Mines and Energy. All ammunition collecting and related enquiries need to be referred to this Department. All of the following information was taken directly from the following Explosives Information Bulletins. Queensland ACCA members should arrange a copy of these for their own reference:

No. 9 (issued 6 August 2003 ) – Small Arms Ammunition and Propellant Powders;

No. 20 (issued 14 July 2003 ) – Ammunition Collection and

No. 23 version 3 ( 20 September 2007 ) – Explosives Inspectorate Contact Details

I must state, that after having studied the cartridge collecting legislation in all Australian states and territories, the Queensland legislation was the most comprehensive and the easiest to digest. As Queensland is also the only jurisdiction where cartridge collecting is dealt with under the Explosives Act, as opposed to the Firearms Act, this might not be a coincidence! It would seem that in Queensland at least, overseeing cartridge collecting under Explosives legislation makes more sense and it certainly provides a more complete and clearer picture than given in any of the seven other jurisdictions. At least I found it to be.  

1.   Is it a requirement that an ammunition collector in your state/territory be a member of a cartridge collecting association such as the Australian Cartridge Collectors Association (ACCA) or the International Ammunition Association (IAA)?

(1)   Yes.

2.   Which section of your state/territory Firearms Act refers to collecting, selling, buying or trading ammunition? (It is likely there is more than one section or sub-section.)

(2)   Explosives Act 1999 & Explosives Regulation 2003 (various Sections apply).

3.   Could you provide me a photocopy of the relevant section/s in your Firearms Act dealing with collecting, selling, buying, trading or anything else to do with ammunition? (Or, if your Firearms Act is available on the internet, could you please provide me the web address?)

(3)   The Explosives Information Bulletins referred to above are too lengthy to include here. The abovementioned three Bulletins that provide answers to these questions amount to ten pages. Refer to the following websites:

http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/mines/explosives

www.dme.qld.gov.au

www.legislation.qld.gov.au

4.  If an ammunition collector in your state/territory needs information from their Firearms Registry regarding collecting, selling, buying or trading ammunition, who is the best person (the most conversant member in your section in that area of the legislation) they could speak with and their contact number?  

(4)  Depending on where you live in Queensland, there are a number of contacts as the Explosives Directorate is divided into Regions.

Head office, Brisbane : (07) 3224 7512;

Southern Region, Coorparoo: (07) 3238 3728;

Central Region, Rockhampton: (07) 4938 4442;

Northern Region, Townsville (07) 4799 7004. 

5.   What is the situation in your state/territory regarding collecting, selling, buying or trading ammunition in the following situations:

a)   someone with a Shooters Licence?

b)      someone with a Firearms Dealers Licence?

c)       someone who does not have a shooters or dealers licence - they do not own any firearms and collect ammunition only?

(5)    a   Can only possess ammunition for firearms that they have registered

        b   All ammunition

        c  If a person wishes to possess ammunition for the purposes of collection (collector’s ammunition) the person must either,

        i)  hold a licence to collect ammunition issued under the Explosives Regulation 2003 (Section 33), OR

ii)  be a prescribed ammunition collector under the Explosives Regulation 2003 (Section 44)

A licensed collector of ammunition may elect to hold the licence for a period of one year or five years, after which the licence may be renewed for similar periods.

6.   In the case of (a) above, is the ammunition they can collect, sell, buy or trade dependent solely on which category of firearms their licence allows? For example if they are only registered as owning .22LR rimfire firearms, is .22LR rimfire ammunition the only ammunition they can collect? If this is so, what does a collector then need to do to ensure they can collect, buy, sell or trade other ammunition such as shotgun or centrefire cartridges in your state/territory?

(6)  Yes.

7.    Does your state/territory legislation have any special or unusual requirements for individuals that collect, sell, buy or trade ammunition? For example in Tasmania, someone selling or supplying ammunition to another person must ensure they are the holder of a licence for a firearm which takes that ammunition, OR has other authorisation from the Police Commissioner to do so. In addition the seller must see the authority of the buyer to ensure he can legally possess it. I expect this probably applies in other jurisdictions.

(7)    See the Explosives Information Bulletins numbers 9 and 20 for full details.

8.    What are the storage requirements for ammunition in your state/territory? In other words, how much security is required?

(8)  Collectors’ ammunition must be stored securely to prevent access by unauthorised person and must be stored away from firearms (Section 86).   

9.   Are any limits imposed on collectors as to what quantity of ammunition they can collect?

(9)  There is no limit to the amount of small arms ammunition that may be stored by authorised persons, however the following obligations apply. The authorised person must:

i)    prevent access to the explosives by unauthorised persons, (ie keep in a secured area),

ii)  store the explosives in a place that minimises potential consequences of an incident involving the explosives,

iii) store the ammunition away from firearms (unless authorised to do so under the Weapons Act 1990)

iv) where the quantity exceeds 10,000 safety cartridges, display a classification sign, for the secured area, appropriate to the explosives stored (this will generally be the orange United Nations explosives classification label, marked 1.4S), and

v)  be accountable for the explosive stored.

10.  Are ammunition components such as bullets, primers, percussion caps, propellant, empty cartridge cases and so on regarded as ammunition in your state/territory and therefore subject to the same storage requirements? (ie a requirement they all be securely locked away?)

(10) Propellant powders, primers and percussion caps would be classified under the Explosives Act and therefore subject to the same conditions as ammunition, it would appear that bullets and unprimed cartridge cases are not as no specific mention is made.

11.  What are your laws regarding transporting ammunition?  This refers to both transporting it intrastate re security issues, and transporting it interstate.

(11) Small arms ammunition and propellant powders may only be transported in a vehicle or boat by persons authorised under the Explosives Act 1999. This includes a person licensed to collect ammunition (any quantity) and a prescribed ammunition collector (any quantity). They must do so in accordance with the Australian Explosives Code.

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