CHANGE TO FIREARMS LEGISLATION as of 1st Jul 2026
Advising you of further legislative changes under the Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (TOLA) (the Act).
The provisions under the Act are being implemented in stages. Some provisions commenced on 24 December 2025, further provisions will be proclaimed commencing 1 July 2026, and additional reforms will be proclaimed at later dates.
Further information will continue to be released in line with the staged proclamation of these reforms.
This email provides an overview of key changes commencing 1 July 2026 relevant to firearm clubs.
Firearm Licence Terms
From 1 July 2026, firearm licences, including firearm club licences, can only be issued for a maximum period of 2 years.
Importantly:
- Existing firearm club licences that have already been issued remain valid for their current approved term and the change will apply at the point of renewal
- Any firearm club licence applications, including renewals, that are not finalised before 1 July 2026 will be issued with a 2-year licence term
- This change does not apply to club approvals, which remain unchanged
Where an application for a 5-year firearm club licence has been made and is not finalised before 1 July 2026, the licence will be issued for a 2-year term.
Where a 5-year application fee has been paid, a partial refund will be provided to reflect the difference between the 5-year and 2-year licence fees.
Permit to Acquire (PTA)
Safe storage requirements
From 1 July 2026, a PTA must not be issued unless the Commissioner is satisfied that the applicant will meet the applicable safe storage requirements.
To meet this requirement:
- The Gun Safe PTA application will provide you with instructions if a safe storage inspection is required by police.
- The inspection must relate to the applicant’s nominated storage address
- The inspection must have a satisfactory (passed) outcome
- The inspection must meet or exceed the safe storage level required for the firearm being acquired
The Gun Safe PTA application will systematically check for a valid safe storage inspection.
Where a valid inspection cannot be identified, applicants will be required to:
- provide a safe storage inspection event number; or
- arrange a safe storage inspection through their local police station
To request a safe storage inspection by police, you will need to contact your local Police Area Command or Police District by email.
Click here for a list of email addresses for all Police Area Commands and Police Districts.
If you are unsure of the Police Area Command or Police District relevant to your safe storage address, you can use the ‘Police Station Search’ function on the NSW Police Force website. Enter your suburb or postcode to identify the relevant Police Area Command or Police District.
Safe storage at club locations
Where firearms are stored at a club location:
- a valid safe storage inspection must still be recorded for that storage address
- applicants may be required to enter the relevant safe storage inspection event number as part of their PTA application.
It is recommended that clubs provide the relevant safe storage inspection event number to members who store firearms at club locations, where required.
If firearm clubs receive enquiries from members in relation to these requirements, please direct members to the Firearms Registry TOLA webpage for further information.
Terrorism-related checks
Additional eligibility requirements will apply to PTA applications from 1 July 2026.
These checks are conducted internally by the NSW Police Force and do not require any additional information from applicants.
Other changes
Further amendments will also commence on 1 July 2026 as part of broader reforms under the Act, including changes relating to:
- identity verification requirements
- delegation of certain decision-making functions
Additional reforms will be introduced at later dates.
Gun Safe System Updates and Service Availability
To support the above changes, updates to the Gun Safe system are required. As a result, some online services will be temporarily unavailable during scheduled periods while these updates are implemented. Further information regarding outage periods is available on the Firearms Registry TOLA webpage.
Further information
Firearm clubs are encouraged to review the Firearms Registry TOLA webpage for detailed information on all the changes