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Arms Act 1983

Miscellaneous provisions - Other miscellaneous provisions

74A: Order in Council relating to definitions of prohibited firearm and prohibited magazine, and declaring prohibited ammunition

You could also call this:

"Rules about banned guns, magazines, and ammo"

Illustration for Arms Act 1983

The Governor-General can make an Order in Council to change what is a prohibited firearm or magazine. You need to know the Secretary for Justice must talk to the New Zealand Police first. The Governor-General can also say what ammunition is prohibited. The Order in Council can change what is a prohibited firearm or magazine by looking at sections like section 2A and section 2B. You can find more information about this in the Legislation Act 2019. The Order must be confirmed by an Act, which you can read about in the Legislation Act 2019. The Governor-General can declare some firearms or magazines as prohibited. This means you cannot have them. The Governor-General can also declare some ammunition as prohibited.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5829962.

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Topics:
Crime and justice > Police and safety
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Part 9Miscellaneous provisions
Other miscellaneous provisions

74AOrder in Council relating to definitions of prohibited firearm and prohibited magazine, and declaring prohibited ammunition

  1. The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the responsible Minister after being satisfied that the Secretary for Justice has consulted with the New Zealand Police,—

  2. amend the description in section 2A of a semi-automatic firearm (except a small semi-automatic pistol) or pump-action shotgun that is a prohibited firearm:
    1. amend the description in section 2B of a magazine that is a prohibited magazine:
      1. declare any semi-automatic firearm (except a small semi-automatic pistol) or pump-action firearm of a stated name or description to be a prohibited firearm for the purposes of this Act:
        1. declare any magazine of a stated name or description to be a prohibited magazine for the purposes of this Act:
          1. declare any ammunition to be prohibited ammunition for the purposes of this Act.

            1. An order under this section—

            2. is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements); and
              1. must be confirmed by an Act (see subpart 3 of Part 5 of the Legislation Act 2019).

                Notes
                • Section 74A: replaced, on , by section 70 of the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 12).
                • Section 74A(1): amended, on , by section 13 of the Arms (Shooting Clubs, Shooting Ranges, and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 15).
                • Section 74A(1)(a): replaced, on , by section 101(1) of the Arms Legislation Act 2020 (2020 No 23).
                • Section 74A(1)(c): replaced, on , by section 101(2) of the Arms Legislation Act 2020 (2020 No 23).
                • Section 74A(2): inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).