Intervention Orders And Firearms Licences In Victoria

October 21, 2022

When a Final Intervention Order is put in place against an individual, they become a Prohibited Person under the Firearms Act 1996. A person subject to a Final Intervention Order will be a prohibited person for five years after the date the order expires. This means that you will not be eligible to apply for a firearms licence until this time period has elapsed or you make a successful Section 189 Application. It is an offence to possess, carry or use a firearm as a prohibited person.

If the Intervention Order has a specific condition cancelling your firearms licence, you are not eligible to make a Section 189 Application.

Application to be Deemed a Non-Prohibited Person (Section 189 Application)

Under Section 189 of the Firearms Act, an individual can make an application to the Court to be deemed a non-prohibited person. You may also make this application to be deemed a non-prohibited person for limited purposes, such as for employment purposes.

An Application to be Deemed a Non-Prohibited Person, or a Section 189 Application, is filed in the Magistrates Court. The Protected Person and Victoria Police will be notified of the application and will be given the opportunity to oppose the application at the first mention.

If the application is opposed by either the Protected Person or Victoria Police, the matter will then go to a contested hearing. Evidence will then be heard from both sides as to whether the prohibited person’s application should be successful.

The Court will consider a number of relevant factors, including:

• Whether firearms were involved in the circumstances leading to the Intervention Order;
• Whether the applicant has a genuine and healthy interest in firearms and legitimate reasons for wanting to hold a firearms licence;
• Whether the Chief Commissioner of Police opposes the application; 
• The Applicant’s criminal record;
• Whether the applicant has ever used, or threatened to use, any other weapons while committing family violence;
• Whether there is a risk that the applicant may use or threaten to use a firearm against the protected person if the court grants the application;
• The protected person’s views on the application;
• The motivation for the application; and
• Whether the applicant requires a weapon or firearms authority as a condition of employment.

The Court will then either declare that the person is no longer a prohibited person, or no longer a prohibited person for a limited purposes (i.e., employment) or the Court will maintain the Applicant’s prohibited person status.