How To Get Your Recreational Firearms Licence In NSW

Alright, exciting times! You’ve decided to get your NSW firearms licence, but you’re not sure how to go about it? Don’t worry, it’s a fairly simple process, but I do understand there is some confusion about the exact steps required. The focus of this article is on gaining Category A and B licensing for hunting and target shooting. I will briefly touch on Category H for target pistol shooting, but that isn’t really the focus.

In this article I will explain all the required steps to get licensed. I will also briefly touch on Safe Storage and Transport Requirements for Firearms. And as a bonus for reading, I will also give you the steps required to get your Restricted Game Hunting Licence “R Licence” for NSW State Forests. The R Licence is a really handy licence for those who love hunting but don’t have access to private property.

First Step Is Book In To Attend A Firearms Safe Handling Course

Before doing anything else, the first step is book in with an authorised training provider for the firearms safe handling course. This course is required as a minimum for all firearms licence genuine reasons in NSW. 

There are many providers who offer this course. Now, if you have no idea where to start, please speak with your local gun shop, hunting club, or target shooting club. They will be able to recommend a trainer you can contact, or they will provide training themselves.

The course is really great and covers off all the common sense items, as well as some additional safe handling processes you may not be aware of. Even if you’ve been around licensed shooters and already know a bit about safe handling, you’re still bound to learn something from this course.

The course is a mix of theory and some practical exercises to ensure you are competent in both knowledge and actual safe handling of firearms. The end test is multiple choice and isn’t difficult. Remember, most of this is common sense safety.

Second Step Is To Decide On Your Genuine Reason/s For Requiring a Firearms Licence

In this country, to possess a firearms licence, at least one “genuine reason” is required. For most shooters, that’s either recreational hunting/vermin control and/or sport/target shooting. However, you can apply for all the genuine reasons you require.

Now, the single most important thing to understand about “genuine reasons” is this: all “genuine reasons” are mutually exclusive and only allow specific permission for that genuine reason. For example: if your licence is endorsed for “sport/target shooting” as your only genuine reason, you are only authorised for the possession and use of firearms for target shooting. You cannot use them for hunting. This is where I see the most confusion among prospective new shooters.

Now that we understand how genuine reasons work, let’s take a look at the whole list:

• Sport/Target Shooting
• Recreational Hunting/Vermin Control
• Primary Production
• Vertebrate Pest Animal Control
• Business or Employment
• Rural Occupation
• Animal Welfare
• Firearms Collection

For the purposes of this article we are focusing on the first two. The rest of the genuine reasons are primarily for business purposes except for “Firearms Collection” and are outside the scope of this article.

Sport/Target Shooting Genuine Reason

For this genuine reason, you are able to apply for Categories A, B, and H. This respectively translates to rimfire rifles/air rifles (Cat A), centerfire rifles (Cat B), and handguns (Cat H). Shotguns generally fall into either Category A or B depending on their configuration and action type. There is a special provision for Cat C semi-auto shotguns for clay target shooting if you have a physical condition that means a normal shotgun isn’t suitable. However, this isn’t something we will go into in this article.

Cat A/B Target Shooting

Cat A and B are the most common categories people apply for. One requirement to be aware of is that you are required to attend the shooting range a minimum of 4 times per reporting period. You can go as many times as you like, there’s no limit there. However, the minimum number of attendances must be met to keep this genuine reason. For more details about participation requirements, please see the NSW Firearms Registry fact sheet Participation Requirements for Club Members.

Once you have joined your local shooting club, you can then apply for your firearms licence.

For full details on this genuine reason, please see the NSW Firearms Registry fact sheet Sport/Target Shooting Genuine Reason.

Cat H Pistol Target Shooting

Cat H is a bit of a different story and generally takes a really long time to obtain. The first step is to register your interest with your local pistol club and wait until your number comes up. Then, you attend the safe handling course and do a practical shooting day where you will get to shoot some handguns. This is done by a P650 permit. If all goes well, you will then be able to apply for membership in the club. 

Once you become a member, you can then apply for your Provisional Pistol Licence “PPL”. Once approved, you will need to attend several training shoots under the supervision of an authorised trainer. This must be completed within the first 6 months of the PPL. The second 6 months you can then acquire 2 pistols (there are strict limits on what can be acquired). Finally, once your PPL period is complete after 12 months, you can then apply for your full Cat H licence.

There are very strict attendance and competition requirements for maintaining a pistol licence. For all the details, please see the NSW Firearms Registry Fact Sheet Participation Requirements for Club Members.

My advice is to apply for a Cat A/B licence first as this will process much faster than Cat H. You can always apply separately for Cat H if you so desire. Personally, I love pistol shooting, so it’s certainly worth doing, but just be prepared for the time it takes to get licensed and join a club.

Recreational Hunting/Vermin Control

The genuine reason of Recreational Hunting/Vermin Control is the reason required to allow you to hunt on private property zoned “rural” and NSW State Forests (R Licence is required for hunting state forests along with this genuine reason).

To qualify for this genuine reason, there are a number of ways, with 3 being the most typical:

• Hunting club membership
• Permission to shoot from owner/occupier
• NSW Restricted Game Hunting Licence

Now, the most common way is to join a hunting club. This will give you Categories A and/or B. Have a look around your local area. Most areas have a hunting club nearby.

If you know a rural landowner or leasee, another way is to get a letter from them authorising you to shoot on their property. Depending on the feral pests listed, this will allow you to gain Categories A and/or B.

Your final option is to apply for a Restricted Game Hunting Licence. The Restricted Licence (R-Licence) allows you to hunt game and feral animals on public land that has been declared and opened to hunting, or on private land with the permission of the landholder. More on this later.

Once you have at least one of those options sorted, you can apply for your firearms licence.

For all the details, please see the NSW Firearms Registry fact sheet Recreational Hunting/Vermin Control.

Firearms Safe Storage and Transport

Safe Storage Requirements

Once you have your firearms licence approved, now is a great time to sort out your safe storage before applying for your first firearm.

Category A/B firearms fall under Safe Storage Level 1, which is simply the easiest storage level to comply with. For full details, please see the NSW Firearms Registry fact sheet Safe Storage Level 1

For those with Cat C and/or H, Safe Storage Level 2 is required. This is really just a beefed up Level 1 storage so nothing too difficult, just a bit more expensive, and will require an inspection from your local licensing officer before you can apply for a firearm. For full details, please see the NSW Firearms Registry fact sheet Safe Storage Level 2.

Safe Transport Requirements

Safe transport requirements are basically common sense. Cat A/B firearms must be unloaded and stored out of sight. Ammunition is to be stored separately in a locked container. What I also do is throw a towel over the rifle bags so there’s no chance they can be identified by someone looking in a window.

Cat C/D/H firearms must be rendered temporarily inoperable by removing the bolts, or by fixing a trigger lock. Ammunition is to be stored separately in a locked container.

Now, what I recommend is just transport everything as if it was Cat C/D/H. The reason being is this: if you step out of the vehicle and leave it unattended for any period of time, the firearms must be stored according to Cat C/D/H requirements anyway. For example, if you need to stop and get fuel, when you go inside to pay, the vehicle is considered unattended. It’s not hard to remove the bolts or fit a trigger lock, so just go ahead and do it.

It’s also worth noting that any unlicensed persons in the vehicle must not be left within the vehicle while you are not in the vehicle, even if you are just going to pay for fuel. In this case, you have left an unlicensed person within access of your firearms and that is a serious offence. It may sound silly, but best kick them out of the car and lock it while you go pay for fuel.
For full details, please see the NSW Firearms Registry fact sheet Transportation of Firearms.

NSW Restricted Game Hunting Licence

This licence is arguably one of the greatest things in NSW. It gives you access to almost limitless hunting opportunities all over the state in some stunning forests. 

When I first started my hunting journey, I was fortunate enough to know a few landowners, so I was able to get permission to hunt. However, there were plenty of weekends where I’d call a farmer only to be told someone else was already shooting that weekend, so I was out of luck. This drove me to apply for an R Licence and it was very well worth it. Even these days as a contract shooter who has access to hunt many private properties, I still enjoy the challenge of hunting state forests and checking out new forest systems.

The application and test are both quite simple and all done online. For full details, check out the application here: NSW State Forest Restricted Hunting Licence.

Now, you will likely hear lots of hunters say that lots of forests are shot out, and that might be true for some. However, I have shot plenty of game in popular forests, so that isn’t always the case. My advice is this: pick a forest that looks like it has potential, then put in time on your feet to get to know it. First, cover a lot of ground and just look for sign. If you bump into some animals, great, you know you’re in the right area! Then, once you understand the area, you can hunt it properly and, in all likelihood, have great success.

State forests are definitely harder to hunt than private property, but they are certainly worth the effort if you enjoy being in the bush.