19/08/2026
This week in Parliament, the Fi****ms Amendment Bill 2026 will be debated in the Upper House.
Some parts of this Bill are sensible, and we acknowledge that the Government has backed away from some of the most extreme proposals, including firearm caps and two-year licence periods.
But buried among those concessions are changes that should concern every Victorian firearm owner.
And once these powers are on the books, pulling them back may be a very different story.
🔴 FIRST: YOUR CITIZENSHIP COULD DECIDE WHETHER YOU CAN OWN A FIREARM
The Bill changes the eligibility requirements for firearm licences, restricting access to Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens who are permanent residents, and certain other permanent residents who use a firearm to earn their living.
This isn't just about recreational shooters.
It potentially affects people across Category A, B, C, D and H, as well as collectors, dealers, firearm retail employees and armed security workers.
Thousands of permanent residents live here. They work here. They pay taxes here. They raise families here. They contribute to their communities. Some can even serve in the ADF or Victoria Police.
Yet under these changes, some could be told they are simply not eligible to hold a firearm licence.
Some permanent residents have no realistic pathway to citizenship.
They can be trusted to work, pay taxes, serve their communities and live their lives in Victoria, carry a firearm to protect the public or country — but apparently not to hold a firearm licence.
That is short-sighted, discriminatory and completely disproportionate.
🔴 THEN THERE'S AUSCHECK
The Bill would require new licence applications and renewals to be cross-referenced against the Federal Government's AusCheck scheme.
Ask yourself:
Have you held a licence for years and already been found to be a fit and proper person?
Are you prepared to potentially pay hundreds of dollars more?
Are you prepared to wait even longer for your licence to be processed?
And what happens if a check goes against you?
Can you find out exactly what the allegation or adverse information is?
Can you properly challenge it?
Can you appeal?
Or will you simply be told no — without knowing exactly why?
AusCheck was designed for high-security environments, including people requiring significant security clearances.
It was not created for the ordinary Victorian who wants to hunt deer, control feral animals or use a firearm on their farm.
A farmer in Patchewollock does not need to be treated like an intelligence operative.
And they certainly shouldn't be expected to carry the cost.
The most disturbing part is what happens when an adverse finding is made.
If you don't know what information has been used against you, how can you defend yourself against it?
Natural justice means being able to know the case against you and have a meaningful opportunity to respond.
Take that away, and you create a system where a person's licence — and livelihood — could potentially be placed at risk by information they cannot see and cannot properly challenge.
🔴 AND THEN THERE'S CLASSIFICATION
The Bill also deals with the temporary reclassification of fi****ms by the Chief Commissioner.
The power to temporarily reclassify fi****ms already exists.
But this Bill risks further sidelining the Victorian Consultative Fi****ms Committee and concentrating that power in the hands of the Police Minister and Chief Commissioner.
That should concern every firearm owner.
Because firearm classification isn't just about what you own today.
It's about who gets to decide what you can own tomorrow.
First it was the so-called "evil black rifles."
Then it could be push-button fi****ms.
Then straight-action fi****ms.
What comes next?
Once the principle is accepted that fi****ms can be reclassified through executive power, the question isn't simply what is being restricted today?
It's:
Who decides what gets restricted tomorrow?
We will fight these provisions.
Victorian firearm owners deserve laws that target criminals and illicit fi****ms — not laws that progressively place greater restrictions, costs and uncertainty on people who have done nothing wrong.
This isn't the end of the fight. It's a warning about where this road could lead.
