1Preliminary provisions

Clause 3 states the purposes of the Bill.

Clause 4 states the principles of the Bill.

Clause 5 defines key terms used in the Bill. Terms used in the Bill have substantially the same definitions as in the Arms Act 1983 (the current Act), which this Bill replaces. However, notable changes are—

• there are a number of new defined terms, including ammunition, animal and biosecurity controller, Arms Regulator, chief executive, Firearms Licensing Review Committee, identification marking, licensed business, major firearm part, multi-user agreement, permanently deactivated firearm, possess, and responsible Minister:

• prohibited ammunition, prohibited firearms, prohibited magazines, and prohibited parts are renamed restricted ammunition, restricted firearms, restricted magazines, and restricted parts respectively:

• firearms, magazines, and parts that are not restricted firearms, restricted magazines, and restricted parts are referred to as standard firearms, standard magazines, and non-restricted parts:

• the definition of arms item now expressly includes large-capacity pistol magazines:

• the definition of manufacture includes not only assembly of an arms item, but also modifying, converting, or otherwise altering the function of an arms item (but does not include disassembling or reassembling an arms item for the purposes of cleaning or maintenance, or replacing a part with an equivalent part).

Clause 6 defines business activity.

Clause 7 defines animal and biosecurity controller.

Clause 8 defines restricted airgun.

Clause 9 defines restricted firearm, which now includes a major firearm part. This means that possession of a major firearm part of a restricted firearm requires an endorsement and either a permit to import or permit to possess.

Clause 10 defines restricted magazine.

Clause 11 defines restricted weapon, which now includes a major firearm part. This means that possession of a major firearm part of a restricted weapon requires an endorsement and either a permit to import or permit to possess.

Clause 12 gives effect to the transitional, savings, and related provisions in Schedule 1.

Clause 13 states that the Bill binds the Crown and re-enacts section 3 of the current Act with the following substantive changes:

• while it is not unlawful to enter into a contract or an arrangement with the Crown, or an agent of the Crown, for the sale or supply of arms items, ammunition, or explosives, it is unlawful to enter into a contract or an arrangement with an undercover officer to illegally sell or purchase arms items, ammunition, or explosives:

• the current protection from prosecution for certain offences under the Bill that applies to a member of the Police when acting as an undercover officer is extended so that members of the Police have protection from all offences under the Bill in respect of actions taken in good faith while acting as an undercover officer.

2General requirements

Part 2 sets out general requirements for—

• possessing arms items and ammunition:

• selling and supplying arms items and ammunition:

• importing arms items, air pistol carbine conversion kits, and ammunition:

• carrying on business activities:

• possessing, displaying, and storing arms items in museums:

• manufacturing arms items and air pistol carbine conversion kits.

These requirements are carried over from the current Act with the following substantive changes:

Possessing arms items and ammunition

• a firearms licence or visitor licence is required to possess a blank-firing gun (other than an exempt blank-firing gun):

• possession of a large-capacity pistol magazine requires an endorsement:

• a licensed business is not required to obtain a permit to possess a restricted firearm, pistol, or restricted weapon if the licensed business is repairing or modifying (including permanently deactivating) the item and returns it to the owner within 7 days after receiving it:

• employees of animal and biosecurity controllers who share a restricted firearm or restricted magazine for a period of no more than 7 days do not require a permit to possess for each occasion that they possess the restricted firearm or restricted magazine if they are named in a multi-user agreement entered into between their employee and the chief executive:

Selling and supplying arms items and ammunition

• a large-capacity pistol magazine may only be sold or supplied to a person whose licence bears an appropriate endorsement:

• ammunition may only be sold or supplied commercially by a licensed business or an approved ammunition seller:

Carrying on business activities

• employees of a licensed business, when assisting with the carrying on of a business activity, do not require endorsements to possess pistols, pistol carbine conversion kits, large-capacity pistol magazines, restricted weapons, parts of restricted weapons, restricted firearms, restricted magazines, or restricted parts:

Possessing, displaying, and storing arms items in museums

• a curator of a museum may only possess, display, and store a class of arms items in a museum if they are authorised to do so by a curator licence issued in relation to the museum:

• a museum worker may only possess, display, and store a class of arms items in a museum if they are authorised to do so by a museum worker licence issued in relation to the museum:

Manufacturing arms items and air pistol carbine conversion kits

• any standard firearm or part manufactured by a firearms licence holder in their personal capacity for their personal use may only be sold through a licensed business:

• a licensed business must, before manufacturing a pistol, a restricted weapon, a pistol carbine conversion kit, or an air pistol carbine conversion kit, obtain the approval of the chief executive and have a permit to possess the item:

• a licensed business that is authorised to manufacture a restricted item must, before manufacturing the item, have an endorsement on their business licence permitting possession of the restricted item.

3Licences and approvals

Part 3 provides for—

• the issue of licences and for licences to be issued subject to conditions:

• licence holders to be subject to obligations to notify the chief executive of the Arms Regulator of certain matters:

• the expiry, surrender, suspension, and revocation of licences:

• the approval of ammunition sellers:

• the issue of improvement notices:

• the issue of infringement notices.

The licensing regime in the current Act (which provides for the issue of firearms licences and dealer’s licences) is carried over with the following substantive changes:

• there are 5 classes of licence—firearms licences, business licences, curator licences, museum worker licences, and visitor licences:

• an approval regime is established for commercial ammunition sellers:

• licence and approval applications are made to the chief executive of the Arms Regulator and issued if the applicant meets specified criteria:

• the chief executive must suspend a licence (other than a visitor licence) if notified by the Police that the licence holder is charged with an offence in respect of which a conviction disqualifies a person from holding a firearms licence:

Firearms licences

• a person who is a gang member does not satisfy the criteria of being a fit and proper person to hold a firearms licence and so may not be issued with a licence:

• the chief executive may, in certain circumstances, extend the expiry date of a firearms licence by up to 3 years if the licence holder applies for a new licence before the expiry of their licence:

• a licensing decision (to not issue a firearms licence, to impose a condition on a firearms licence, or to revoke a firearms licence) may be referred to the Firearms Licensing Review Committee for review (replacing the current review process that is undertaken by the Commissioner of Police):

• there is no right of appeal to the District Court in respect of a licensing decision (to not issue a firearms licence, to impose a condition on a firearms licence, or to revoke a firearms licence):

Business licences

• a dealer’s licence is renamed a business licence (and a licensed dealer is referred to as a licensed business):

• the activities that a licensed business is authorised to carry on by a business licence are referred to as arms activities:

• a business licence is subject to the condition that the licence holder must ensure that all employees who handle arms items and ammunition in the course of their duties hold a firearms licence and have the appropriate training and competence:

• a business licence is subject to the condition that the licensed business must notify the chief executive of the Arms Regulator when an employee whose duties include handling arms items and ammunition commences or leaves the employment of the licensed business:

• the duration of a business licence is extended from 1 year to 5 years for a licence holder who has held a business licence for at least 2 years:

Curator licences

• a curator licence is required to be held by a curator of a museum (currently a curator is required to hold a dealer’s licence):

• a curator licence authorises the curator to possess, display, and store specified arms items and ammunition in the museum specified in the licence:

• a curator is subject to the same requirements for obtaining endorsements as the holder of a business licence:

• a curator licence has the same duration as a business licence:

Museum worker licences

• a museum worker licence is required to be held by a museum worker:

• a museum worker is not required to hold a firearms licence but must not be disqualified from holding a firearms licence:

• a museum worker licence authorises the museum worker to possess, display, and store specified arms items in the course of their employment duties:

• a museum worker licence is issued for 1 year in certain circumstances (including if the licence holder has not previously held a museum worker licence) but is otherwise issued for a 5-year period:

Visitor licences

• a visitor to New Zealand is required to hold a visitor licence (currently a visitor is required to hold a type of firearms licence that is issued to visitors):

• the application process for a visitor licence is substantially the same as for a firearms licence:

• a visitor licence is issued for 1 year and may be issued for multiple visits to New Zealand within the same year:

• a visitor licence may not be suspended but may be surrendered or revoked:

Approved ammunition sellers

• a person who does not hold a business licence must obtain approval to sell or supply ammunition commercially:

• an approval is granted for the sale and supply of ammunition from 1 place of business only:

• an approval does not expire but continues in effect until revoked:

• an approved ammunition seller must provide to the chief executive of the Arms Regulator details of ammunition sales for inclusion in the registry.

Other changes to the existing licensing regime are the following:

• the period for which a licence may be suspended if a licence holder is considered unfit to be in possession of a firearm on the basis of a notice given by their health practitioner is extended from 90 days to 12 months:

• a licence may be suspended if the licence holder has been issued with an infringement notice:

• the inclusion of a new offence for failing to notify the chief executive of the Arms Regulator if a licence is lost or stolen.

4Endorsements and permits

Part 4 carries over the provisions in the current Act relating to endorsements (sections 29 to 34), permits to import (Part 3), and permits to possess (sections 35 to 38), with the following substantive changes:

Endorsements

• an application for an endorsement is made to the chief executive of the Arms Regulator and the endorsement is issued if the chief executive is satisfied of certain matters:

• the duration of an endorsement on a firearms licence held by an animal and biosecurity controller is extended to 5 years, but the licence holder must, 2 years and 6 months after the endorsement is made, advise the chief executive whether there has been any change in circumstances affecting their entitlement to an endorsement (currently an endorsement on a firearms licence held by a person who is employed or engaged to control wild animals or animal pests is made for 2 years and 6 months):

• the requirement relating to the separate storage of vital parts of a restricted firearm is relaxed so that licence holders may store vital parts at the address of another licence holder approved by the chief executive, without that other licence holder needing to have any endorsement on their licence permitting possession of restricted parts:

Permits to import

• an application for a permit to import is made to the chief executive of the Arms Regulator and the permit is issued if the chief executive is satisfied of certain matters:

• the duration of a permit to import is extended from 30 days to 12 months:

Permits to possess

• an application for a permit to possess is made to the chief executive of the Arms Regulator and the permit is issued if the chief executive is satisfied of certain matters.

5Shooting clubs and shooting ranges

Part 5 is carried over from Part 6 of the current Act with 3 substantive changes—

• applications for the following are made to, and determined by, the chief executive of the Arms Regulator (not the Commissioner of Police as currently):

  • a certificate of approval of a pistol shooting club:

  • the enrolment of a non-pistol shooting club:

  • the certification of a pistol shooting range:

  • the enrolment of a non-pistol shooting range:

• notice of a temporary non-pistol shooting range is given to the chief executive:

• inspections of shooting ranges may be undertaken at times other than at the times specified with the agreement of the range operator.

6Further offences and firearms prohibition orders

Part 6 largely carries over the offence provisions in Part 8 of the current Act with the following substantive changes:

• offences in the current Act are carried over with increased penalties:

• new offences are included; in particular, it is an offence for—

  • a person to purchase or acquire an arms item intending to sell or otherwise supply the item to another person who is not entitled to lawfully possess the item:

  • a person who is not entitled to lawfully possess an arms item to enter into an arrangement with the holder of a firearms licence or business licence to purchase or acquire an arms item on their behalf:

  • an animal and biosecurity controller to fail to keep a record of the location of each of the restricted firearms and restricted magazines that are shared between employees under a multi-user agreement:

  • a person to possess a digital blueprint for the manufacture of an arms item in circumstances that indicate an intention to manufacture the arms item despite the person not being a licence holder and lawfully entitled to possess the arms item:

  • a person to possess any component of ammunition in circumstances that indicate an intention to use the component to manufacture ammunition and to have the machinery to do so despite the person not being a firearms licence holder:

• an infringement offence regime is established to provide for infringement offences to be identified in regulations and for infringement fees in respect of infringement offences to be specified in regulations.

Part 6 also carries over Part 7A of the current Act, which relates to firearms prohibition orders, with a reference to a member of the Police replaced with a reference to the chief executive of the Arms Regulator.

7Administration

Subpart 1 of Part 7—

• establishes the Arms Regulator as an autonomous agency of the Police, sets out its functions, and provides for the appointment of its chief executive (as well as for their remuneration, removal, suspension, and other related administrative matters):

• provides that the chief executive must act independently of the Commissioner and the responsible Minister, and is not subject to any direction requiring the performance or non-performance of a particular act, or the bringing about of a particular result, in respect of a particular person or matter:

• provides that the chief executive is still responsible to the Minister for the conduct of the Arms Regulator and is subject to the Minister’s general policy directions:

• provides that the Commissioner is not responsible for the performance of the Arms Regulator’s functions and that the chief executive is not responsible for the performance of the rest of the Police’s functions unless expressly provided in legislation (these provisions are modelled on the provisions relating to departmental agencies in the Public Service Act 2020):

• gives the chief executive all necessary powers and allows the chief executive to delegate any powers, duties, or functions to Police employees who are not constables:

• treats certain employment functions of the Commissioner as being delegated to the chief executive in relation to Police employees who perform the functions or duties or exercise the powers of the Arms Regulator:

• requires the Commissioner to provide the necessary resources and administrative support to the Arms Regulator:

• requires the Commissioner and the chief executive to agree upon working arrangements and to co-operate and collaborate with each other for the purposes of the working arrangements:

• requires the department to assist the responsible Minister to carry out the Minister’s role in relation to the Arms Regulator and to perform other related monitoring functions.

Subpart 2 of Part 7—

• establishes the Firearms Licensing Review Committee (the Review Committee), and sets out its function, membership, and procedural matters:

• replaces the review process in sections 62 and 62A of the current Act for firearms licensing decisions that were undertaken by the Commissioner of Police with the Review Committee:

• enables an application to be made seeking a review by the Review Committee not only of a decision to decline to issue a firearms licence or to revoke a firearms licence, but also of a decision to impose a condition on a firearms licence:

• provides that an application cannot be made for the review of a decision in respect of any other type of licence:

• provides that the membership of the Review Committee comprises lawyers appointed by the responsible Minister, persons appointed by the responsible Minister to represent the interests of licence holders, and persons appointed by the chief executive:

• states that the Review Committee is to sit in panels of 3 members, with 1 member appointed from each class of membership:

• provides for a review of a decision to be conducted on the papers, with a panel being able to require the provision of such further information as it considers necessary to enable the conduct of a review:

• provides that, after conducting a review of an application made to it, a panel of the Review Committee may do any or all of the following:

  • confirm or reverse a decision not to issue the applicant with a firearms licence:

  • confirm or reverse a decision to revoke the applicant’s firearms licence:

  • confirm, vary, or reverse a decision to impose a condition on the applicant’s firearms licence:

  • impose any new condition on the applicant’s firearms licence.

Subpart 3 of Part 7 continues the Arms Advisory Group established under sections 88 to 91 of the current Act. The current provisions relating to the membership of the Arms Advisory Group, the appointment and removal of its members, and its operations are carried over without change.

8Miscellaneous provisions

Part 8 largely carries over Part 9 of the current Act with the following substantive changes:

Identification marking

• the items requiring identification marking are clearly set out:

• standard firearms and restricted firearms that are permanently deactivated must have an identification marking showing their status:

• penalties for the offences relating to identification markings are substantially increased:

Delivery or surrender of arms items and ammunition

• a licensed business is required to notify the chief executive of the Arms Regulator within 5 working days after any arms item is surrendered to them and, if required, surrender the item to the Police for inspection and for inquiries about the item to be made:

• a licensed business that notifies the chief executive of an arms item or ammunition surrendered to them is not required to record the particulars of the arms item or ammunition:

Forfeiture

• if a person is convicted of an offence relating to the illegal manufacture of any arms item, imitation firearm, or ammunition, the sentencing court may order the forfeiture of any tools, machinery, or equipment used in the manufacture of the arms item, imitation firearm, or ammunition:

Sharing of information

• the chief executive of the Arms Regulator must share with the Police the information held on the arms register:

• the Police must share with the chief executive of the Arms Regulator any information held by the Police in relation to an applicant, licence holder, shooting club, or shooting range that the Police considers may assist with the performance of the functions, duties, and powers of the Arms Regulator:

• the chief executive of the Arms Regulator and the Police may agree to share any other information that they hold if they enter into an agreement for the sharing of that information that satisfies certain requirements and ensures that appropriate protections are or will be in place to maintain the confidentiality of the information:

Arms registry

• the chief executive of the Arms Regulator is required to continue and maintain the arms registry kept and operated by the Commissioner under section 93 of the current Act:

Direct access agreements

• Part 7 of the current Act, which provides for direct access by certain government agencies to the arms registry, is carried over, but references to the Minister of Police and the Police are replaced with references to the responsible Minister and the chief executive of the Arms Regulator, respectively:

Regulations

• provision is made for regulations to be made—

  • specifying the kinds of airguns, blank-firing guns, and standard firearms that are outside the regulatory regime:

  • specifying infringement offences and setting infringement fees:

  • relating to guidance or details of an administrative nature that the chief executive of the Arms Regulator may issue in relation to this Act, including the manner in which the guidance or details must be published or notified:

• before recommending the making of any regulations, the responsible Minister must be satisfied that the Secretary for Justice has consulted the Arms Regulator, as well as the Police and other affected persons:

Other matters

• a person travelling overseas whose firearms licence will expire while they are overseas, and who has a valid reason for requiring a current firearms licence while overseas (for example, to participate in an international shooting or hunting competition), may request that their application for a firearms licence, endorsement, and permit to possess be given priority:

Reviews

• the methods and levels of cost recovery are to be reviewed every 5 years:

• a review of the operation of the Act must be undertaken before 31 December 2030 (the current Act provides for a review to commence on 25 June 2026).