To get a gun licence in Australia, applicants must provide a "genuine reason" to own a gun, such as working on farms or as a security guard.
Hundreds of thousands of gun licences have been issued for licensees to participate in recreational hunting and sports shooting. However, official data on sports participation shows that the number of people that actually participate in these activities is far lower.
This means that large numbers of gun owners do not use their guns for reason they claim they need them, raising questions about community safety and the effectiveness of Australia's gun laws.
Key findings:
- In NSW alone, there are at up to 253,670 gun licences that list either sports shooting or recreational hunting as a genuine reason. However, only 36,000 people participate in either activity.
- This gap of more than 200,000 licenses shows that many people are giving misleading information or failing to update their gun licence conditions.
- Gun lobby groups boast that the genuine reason test can be satisfied "from the comfort of your own home", simply by joining a shooting association.
- This has led to rapid growth in the financial resources of Australia's gun lobby, with Sporting Shooters Association of Australia enjoying nearly $50 million in revenue each year. This is more money than Netball Australia receives even though five times more people play netball than participate in sports shooting.
"There are hundreds of thousands of people who don't use their firearms for the reason on their licence, and that is a major concern," said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.
"The huge gap between those who say they need a gun for hunting or sports, and those who actually do either, exposes the façade that underpins gun licensing across this country.
"Australia's firearm laws are rightly a point of national pride, but they can only keep Australians safe if they remain ironclad. Right now, this genuine reason loophole leaves the door wide open for someone with bad intentions to get around Australia's firearm laws. "This loophole has given gun clubs a guaranteed revenue stream and actually strengthened Australia's gun lobby.
"We are now at a point where Australia's main gun lobby group has a budget of over $50 million per year, more than Netball Australia even though five times more people play netball than go hunting or target shooting.
"There are more guns in Australia now than at any point in the country's history, including before the Port Arthur massacre. "Australians expect their gun laws to keep them safe, but our research shows that our state and territory licencing regimes are undermining the system and potentially putting people at risk."
