Firearm or Dangerous Weapon Offences

Dangerous Weapon And Firearm Offences

Expert Firearm Legal Advice

Queensland has strict regulations regarding firearms and a licence is required before you can legally own one. Firearm licences are issued by the Queensland Police Service, which has a weapon licensing division dedicated to this purpose.

You can apply for a firearm licence with an approval contingent on the following factors:

Recreational, target, or sports shooting
Weapon collecting
Military re-enactment or required for your occupation

It must be noted that the law recognises different types of firearms. If you have a licence for a particular category, you cannot possess weapons listed under other categories.

Here is a list of some weapons in various categories:

A – this category includes all shotguns except self-loading, pump and lever-action ones, as well as rimfire and air rifle.
B – a shotgun with lever-action and up to a five-round capacity, and a centre-fire rifle.
C – a rimfire rifle that is semi-automatic and whose capacity doesn’t exceed 10 rounds, and pump-action and semi-automatic shotguns with up to a five-round capacity.
D– semi-automatic shotguns with a capacity of over five rounds, and a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle with a capacity that exceeds ten rounds.

E – bulletproof vests
H – handguns
M – handheld weapons like knives and crossbows that might cause bodily harm.
R– large calibre military firearms that are fully automatic, and machine guns.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old, have a valid reason for owning a gun and complete safety training. Additionally, criminal and health records assist to determine whether one is “fit and proper” to own a firearm.

What If You Own A Gun Without A Licence?

What if you own a gun without a Licence?
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Gel Blasters

Gel Blasters
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Possessing A Pocketknife

Possessing A Pocketknife
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How Can ATL Help?

How Can ATL Help?
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What If You Own A Gun Without A Licence?

The Weapons Act states that you should not possess a weapon without a licence. It is important to note that you can be charged even if the weapon is inoperable.

Penalties for unlawful possession of a weapon are wide-ranging and can include fines and actual jail time.

Apart from unlawful weapon possession, you might face other charges related to firearms.

Some of these charges include mandatory jail time, including:

Being apprehended in a public place while carrying a short firearm without a valid justification.
Possessing a firearm during the commission of an indictable offence or the intention of doing so.

If you unlawfully own a weapon while committing an unrelated offence, you could face a mandatory jail sentence of up to 18 months.

Gel Blasters - What are Gel Blasters?

The increased interest in the hobby sport of collecting and using gel blasters has created a large legal interest. Inappropriate use of these ‘TOYS’ have led to criminal investigations and criminal charges for a variety of offences.

Gel blasters look identical to various handguns, shotguns and rifles from around the world. The color, size and detail of these gel blasters make it difficult for anyone, including trained professionals, to note the difference between a toy and a real firearm.

What is a Gel Blaster?

A Gel Blaster, gel gun, gel marker or hydro blaster are all legally classified as toys, which are manufactured to resemble common firearms from around the world. However, instead of firing a bullet, they fire a 6-8mm super absorbent water bead which are often sold commercially as moisture retainers for gardening.

Legislation

From 1 February 2021 new laws were introduced into Queensland which govern the use and possession of gel blaster toys. One of the main points amended was the use or possession of gel blasters in public places. Because of the realism of these toys the concern for public alarm was the focus for the changes.

Offences

Inappropriate use of a gel blaster could take many forms however the most common offences, post 1 February 2021 have been:

s57 - Particular conduct involving a weapon in a public place prohibited – Weapons Act 1990
s58 - Dangerous conduct with weapon prohibited generally – Weapons Act 1990

Examples of the above offences include walking in public with a gel blaster on display, not concealed in a bag/box out of sight or firing a gel blaster in public.

The following significant offences could be as a result of pointing, discharging or threatening the use of a gel blaster on another person without permission or causing them injury;

s75 – Threatening Violence – discharge firearms – Criminal Code;
s339 – Assault Occasioning Bodily Harm – Criminal Code;
s320 – Grievous Bodily Harm – Criminal Code.

Likely penalties for a person who is found guilty of an offence where a gel blaster was used, may receive a monetary penalty or a community based order.

If you or someone you know has been charged with an offence involving a gel blaster, the team at Anderson Telford Lawyers can provide you with the legal advice and representation you require.

Possessing A Pocketknife

That’s not a knife, this is a KNIFE….

Did you know, in some circumstances you could be charged with a criminal offence for possessing a pocketknife while in public.

The Weapons Act 1990 outlines the offence:

s51 Possession of a knife in a public place or a school

(1) A person must not physically possess a knife in a public place or a school, unless the person has a reasonable excuse.

Maximum penalty—40 penalty units or 1 year’s imprisonment.

But what is a Reasonable Excuse?

The Weapons Act 1990 provides a number of examples of what is considered reasonable, these include:

A person may carry a knife on his or her belt for performing work in primary production.
A fisher may carry a knife for use while fishing
A person may use a knife to prepare or cut food at a picnic in a park

When considering a reasonable excuse, the court must consider the context and circumstances of the possession. This means if you provide police with the excuse of possessing the knife for fishing, the court will consider if you also had a fishing rod, tackle box or bait with you at the same time. If not, you might be convicted of the offence.

Possessing a swiss army knife in public may also be considered a reasonable excuse if it is used for its normal utility purposes – using the scissors, screwdriver, nail file, tweezer or the knife.

However, if the possession of the swiss army knife or any knife is for the purposes of self-defence, this is considered not to be a reasonable excuse. Self-defence has been expressly excluded under the Weapons Act.

Is a Car a Public Place?

Yes. However, like above, the court must consider where the knife was located.

For example, a knife located in a toolbox in the tray of a utility vehicle, could NOT be deemed as "physical" possession, however, if it was located on the dashboard directly in front of the driver’s seat, or in any area that allows immediate possession then the situation would be very different.

This position was clarified with the amendment of the offence within the Weapons Act 1990 to include;

Public place includes a vehicle that is in or on a public place.

So, if you have been caught in public with your trusty swiss army pocketknife, the team at Anderson Telford can assist you with the legal advice you require.