Western Australia. 1973 ‘Exercise of Commissioner's Discretion.’ Firearms Act 1973 (Version 05-00-00, reprinted under the Reprints Act 1984 as at 13 February 2015); Section 11. Perth: State Law Publisher. 18 October

Relevant contents

11. Exercise of Commissioner's discretion

(1) The Commissioner cannot grant an approval or permit or issue a licence under this Act to a person if the Commissioner is of the opinion that —
(a) to do so would be contrary to section 11A or regulations under section 11B or 11C; or
(b) it is not desirable in the interests of public safety; or
(c) the person is not a fit and proper person to hold the approval, permit, or licence.

(2) Where the Commissioner is satisfied that a person has a history of, or a tendency towards, violent behaviour, the Commissioner may take it into account in deciding whether that person is a fit and proper person to hold an approval, permit, or licence.

(3) The Commissioner has a sufficient ground for forming an opinion that a person is not a fit and proper person to hold an approval, permit or licence under this Act if the Commissioner —
(a) is satisfied that at any time within the period of 5 years before the person applies for the approval, permit or licence —
(i) the person was convicted of an offence involving assault with a weapon; or
(ii) the person was convicted of an offence involving violence; or
(iii) the person was convicted of any offence against this Act; or
(iv) a violence restraining order was made against the person, whether in this State or in any other place; or
(b) is satisfied that the person fails to meet standards of mental or physical fitness that the Commissioner considers to be necessary for the person to hold the approval, permit or licence; or
(c) suspects, on the basis of an intelligence report or other information held in relation to the person, that the person is a threat to public safety.

(4) In subsection (3) —
violence restraining order means a judicial order imposing on the person against whom the order is made restraints on the person's lawful activities and behaviour to prevent the person —
(a) committing an offence against the person under Part V of The Criminal Code, other than Chapters XXXIV and XXXV; or
(b) behaving in a manner that could reasonably be expected to cause fear that the person will commit such an offence,
or a similar order made under the laws of any place other than this State…

(6) Subsection (3) does not limit the Commissioner's ability, when forming an opinion as to whether a person is a fit and proper person to hold an approval, permit or licence under this Act, to take into account —
(a) a conviction or order made outside the period of 5 years referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection; or
(b) anything else that could have been taken into account if that subsection had not been enacted.

(7) Without limiting the other grounds on which an application may be refused, the Commissioner may refuse an application if satisfied that the applicant has —
(a) failed to comply with a regulation providing for the manner in which a photograph of the applicant's face is to be supplied for inclusion on an Extract of Licence;
(b) failed to give the Commissioner, when requested in writing by a member of the Police Force to do so, a statement in the prescribed form as to what the applicant has done, or intends to do, to ensure that any firearms or ammunition in the applicant's possession are stored in accordance with this Act; or
(c) refused to permit a member of the Police Force to inspect the storage facilities for any firearms or ammunition that the applicant would be entitled to possess, when requested in writing by a member of the Police Force to do so…..

Last accessed at:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/fa1973102.txt

ID: Q2748