Firearms and Weapons Lawyers Parramatta

Most Firearms Charges Create Two Problems at Once

A firearms charge doesn't arrive alone. The moment police lay a charge under the Firearms Act 1996 or the Weapons Prohibition Act 1998, your firearms licence is at risk of immediate revocation, your weapons are surrendered, and you're dealing with a criminal matter and a licensing matter that run on completely different tracks. If you hold a licence for security work, primary production, competitive shooting, or military reserves, the licence revocation can do more damage to your life than the criminal penalty itself.

The charges cover a wide range. Unauthorised possession of a firearm under s7A carries up to 5 years imprisonment. Possession of a prohibited firearm or pistol under s7 carries 14 years. Storage offences under s39, where a safe doesn't meet specifications or ammunition isn't stored separately, are strict liability. That means the prosecution doesn't need to prove you intended to do anything wrong. If the arrangement was non-compliant when police attended, the offence is made out. And because firearms charges fall under show cause bail provisions in the Bail Act 2013, you'll need to demonstrate why your detention isn't justified before you're released.

A Revoked Firearms Licence Hits Harder Than Most People Expect

The criminal penalties are on the charge sheet. The licence consequences aren't, and they often start before the criminal matter even reaches court. Under the Firearms Act, revocation can follow an arrest, a regulatory breach, or a provisional AVO that hasn't been determined. A domestic incident that produces a provisional ADVO triggers automatic firearms licence revocation, even when the order hasn't been tested in a hearing.

For security industry workers across Parramatta, Blacktown, Penrith, and Liverpool, that revocation means no armed work from the day it takes effect. Farmers and primary producers through the Cumberland and Hills catchment lose the tools they need to manage livestock and vermin on their own property. Sporting shooters lose competition eligibility and club membership they may have built over decades. A firearms conviction on your National Police Check affects government security clearances, Working With Children screenings, and visa applications to the US, UK, and Canada. The charge might resolve in your favour, but the licence doesn't restore itself when it does.

How We Defend Firearms and Weapons Charges in Western Sydney

The way the firearms were located often matters as much as what police found. Whether Cumberland Police Area Command officers searched your vehicle in Parramatta, executed a warrant at a property in Merrylands or Granville, or stopped and searched you in Auburn, Guildford, or Westmead, the LEPRA 2002 requirements are the same. Police need lawful authority, must follow specific procedures, and must record what they did and why. If the warrant was defective or the search went beyond its scope, we apply to exclude the evidence under s138 of the Evidence Act 1995, and we review every warrant, search record, and body-worn camera file from the interaction.

Storage prosecutions under s39 come down to what police actually observed against what the regulations require. We look at whether the safe was genuinely non-compliant or whether police misread the standard, whether firearms were in transit where different storage requirements apply, and whether the Firearms Registry had previously inspected the same arrangement without issue. For prohibited weapons charges under the Weapons Prohibition Act 1998, lawful excuse is a complete defence, and we build that around occupational purpose, registered collection status, or the specific circumstances of possession.

We've been defending firearms and weapons matters at Parramatta since 2013. Our office is at 100 George Street, a 2-minute walk from the courthouse at 12 George Street, and we appear at Parramatta Local Court and District Court weekly. We also defend firearms matters at Blacktown, Penrith, Liverpool, Bankstown, Fairfield, and courts across Western Sydney. Call 1800 527 529 (1800 JBP LAW) or book a case review. Open 7 days, fixed-fee options available.

One point worth being direct about: not every storage offence should go to a defended hearing. When the evidence is clear-cut, a well-prepared guilty plea combined with a Section 10 dismissal under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 often achieves more than a contested hearing that doesn't succeed. A dismissal without conviction puts you in the strongest position for what comes next, which is the licence fight.

Winning the Charge Without Winning the Licence Back Is Only Half the Job

The criminal matter runs through the Local Court or District Court. The licence appeal goes to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, with different timelines, different decision-makers, and different evidence. A Section 10 on the criminal charge strengthens any application to restore your licence, because the Tribunal and the Firearms Registry can see the court treated the matter as minor. Licence restoration doesn't follow automatically from a good criminal result, though. It requires its own preparation, its own evidence of genuine reason and safe storage compliance, and its own hearing.

We prepare both tracks together so that the criminal defence supports the licence application and the timing aligns. For security workers, that's the difference between months off work and getting back on roster. Farmers avoid the cost and hassle of hiring someone else to manage vermin on their own land. Competitive shooters keep a place in a sport that took years to build.

Your firearms charge and your firearms licence are two separate fights, and they both need winning. Call 1800 527 529 or book a case review to get both moving. For more detail, see our Sydney firearms lawyers page. Back to Parramatta criminal lawyer.