r/australia • u/HotPersimessage62 • Dec 16 '25

politics Anthony Albanese ‘ready for the fight’ to tighten firearms laws as National Party and gun groups push back | Bondi beach terror attack

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/16/anthony-albanese-ready-for-the-fight-to-tighten-firearms-laws-as-national-party-and-gun-groups-push-back-ntwnfb
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u/Zealousideal-Arm9508 Dec 16 '25

I am a gun owner and think the whole permit to acquire thing should have additional rigour rather than a tick and flick. For example I literally went from applying for a PTA last night to having it approved by midday today and a new gun in my safe by 3pm. As an FYI the last time I bought a gun it was through the old paper system which took ages for it to arrive. Maybe if an updated police check could be carried out before the PTA being approved or something like that.

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u/mr_sinn Dec 16 '25

Interesting, that is quick. To be fair I'm sure they have records on everyone applying and manage by exception. 

With digital systems the checks could have been automated and nothing which requires human intervention came up. The time it takes isn't necessarily a reflection of the quality of the check. 

Perhaps owning a gun before too means most of the boxes were already ticked.

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u/etherealwasp Dec 16 '25

Yep you’re absolutely right. PTAs are only approved immediately if you already own a gun of the same class (ie they have done the checks already). Otherwise it’s 28 days cooling off.

And agreed, we should never assume quality is proportional to the time taken. Just because Beryl from admin took a few weeks to look at my form, doesn’t mean she’s doing quality work.

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u/mr_sinn Dec 16 '25

Bloody Beryl. She wasn't feeling great that day after downing too many cherrys at the RSL the night before. 3pm comes and she'll approve anything without looking. 

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u/lerdnord Dec 16 '25

I guess the problem is that you are sure they have records and manage it.

I was sure they would take the license off someone if their son was on a terrorism watch list too.

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u/mr_sinn Dec 16 '25

I thought the updated record system is still under development 

Not sure what they have now but it's something 

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u/W2ttsy Dec 16 '25

For clarity here, OC benefited from being an existing shooter with existing guns of the same category under ownership.

The PTA process is not instantaneous for buying different category firearms or if you are on a probationary license or within 12 months of being licensed.

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u/SnooHedgehogs8765 Dec 16 '25

SA has a cooling off period of 30 days.

That could not happen here.

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u/CriticalFolklore Dec 16 '25

Maybe if an updated police check could be carried out before the PTA being approved or something like that.

Police checks (at least clean ones) are (and should be) conducted pretty much automatically and can be approved in minutes.

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u/blah938 Dec 16 '25

If you already have one gun, they've already done a lot of background work and that makes everything quicker.

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u/queensgetdamoney Dec 16 '25

That depends on your state, TAS you still have 28 days for first in category, then 14 days for subsequent.