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SSAA Victoria
Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (Victoria)
Enquiries & Membership
03 8892 2777

Range Officers are a vital part of all SSAA Victoria ranges. With the primary function of ensuring safety and compliance with the range rules, it is a role that must be maintained to ensure the highest level of safety is met. It is a SSAA Victoria policy that all ranges have a qualified Range Officer in attendance at all times when in operation.

All ranges across Victoria welcome SSAA members to assist them in servicing the ranges to ensure that all members have an enjoyable time. SSAA Victoria encourages its members to become Range Officers to help fellow shooters and ensure all of our ranges continue to provide the high standard of service expected by regulatory bodies.

SSAA Victoria conducts Range Officer training courses across the State. In 2015, the Range Officer training course underwent a major review to ensure our new Range Officers fully understood the requirements of their role. As a result, a new course was developed and a new Range Officer Policy was adopted by the SSAA Victoria Board.

In 2023, the theoretical component of the course has been moved online with the practical component conducted on the range.

  • How to become a Range Officer
  • Does my accreditation expire?
  • Revalidation
  • Training policy

How to become a Range Officer

Training courses are conducted in both metropolitan and regional areas of Victoria. Each prospective Range Officer must complete an application form that is to be sent to the SSAA Victoria State Office.

This application form will ask a number of questions of the applicant to assess whether they qualify to become a Range Officer. The application form includes:

  • Are you a SSAA member?
  • Do you have a firearms licence and for how long have you held it?
  • Why do you want to become a Range Officer?
  • Endorsement from a branch or sub-club.

These questions will allow SSAA Victoria to ascertain what experience an individual has had on and around a range and with firearms. The Branch or Sub-club endorsement is a mandatory requirement. Those who have only recently acquired a firearms licence or have no intention to assist Branches or Sub-clubs may not be viewed favourably unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Once an application has been approved by the SSAA Victoria Training Manager, you will be notified to complete your booking for an available practical session in the table below.

Download the application form and email it to: training@ssaavic.com.au

Course structure:

  • The course has an online theory component and a practical session on a SSAA shooting range. You will receive access to the online theory four (4) weeks before the practical date. You must complete the theory assessment at least five (5) business days before the practical session to give us enough time to assess it. (You are required to visit a range of your choice when you complete the theory).
  • During the practical session, each candidate will be assessed and, based on meeting key criteria, they will be accredited as a Range Officer after completing the course and the post-course live-fire practice shoots.
  • Following the course, the competent Range Officers need to be inducted into the range they will be servicing and complete at least six practice shoots under the supervision of an experienced Range Officer to build confidence and understanding of any unique natures of their local range. This induction should include understanding the range rules (orders), range certification, and local limitations/restrictions of the range(s).

Once the course and the practice shoots are completed, candidates must submit a copy of their Working with Children Check to receive a range officer card as proof of their accreditation. This accreditation card should be worn when on duty as a Range Officer on a SSAA Victoria range.

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All LocationsMetropolitanRegional

Upcoming Classes - All Locations

Name Location Date Time Available Spaces Cost
Range Officer Course Shepparton SSAA range 22 February 2025 09:00 am - 12:00 pm 10 $0.00
Enrol
Zoo RO Training Little River SSAA Range 5 March 2025 09:00 am - 04:00 pm 9 $0.00
Enrol

Upcoming Classes - Metropolitan

Name Location Date Time Available Spaces Cost
Zoo RO Training Little River SSAA Range 5 March 2025 09:00 am - 04:00 pm 9 $0.00
Enrol

Upcoming Classes - RegioNAL

Name Location Date Time Available Spaces Cost
Range Officer Course Shepparton SSAA range 22 February 2025 09:00 am - 12:00 pm 10 $0.00
Enrol

 

Does my accreditation expire?

Yes. Every three years Range Officers will be required to revalidate their accreditation. This reaccreditation is managed by the Branch or Sub-club that endorsed the Range Officer. No additional courses need to be attended to revalidate, however Range Officers must be active on a range regularly.

Revalidation

The primary change to RO accreditation is that it will now expire every three years. As the current RO accreditation cards do not have an expiry date on them, SSAA Victoria will be expiring all ROs at the end of 2025. This will enable the Association to identify those ROs that are actively servicing our ranges. SSAA Victoria will also reissue accreditation cards with the new three-year expiry date for new ROs and those who complete a process called ‘revalidation’.

The sub-clubs and branches will revalidate RO accreditations in April 2025. Currently accredited Range Officers will not be required to sit a new or refresher course, only being required to gain endorsement from their branch or sub-club. In November 2025 the State Office will send lists of all ROs to the branches and sub-clubs. The sub-clubs and branches will then endorse those who have been active ROs on a regular basis. This information will be sent back to the State Office to be processed and new SSAA Victoria RO cards will be issued. Through this process, all RO contact details will also be cross-checked and the database updated. Any person who does not get endorsed by the club by November 2025 will be automatically canceled as an RO and will need to resit the course and complete all required training from scratch.

All revalidated or new accreditations obtained from 2022 onward will expire at the end of 2025, when sub-clubs and branches will be required to revalidate ROs again.

Melbourne metropolitan ROs should note that if they have not attended a new or refresher course since September 2015, their RO accreditation has already expired. The colour and type of RO card a person carries signifies whether they have attended a refresher course. Those with orange and white printer cards are current and will need to be revalidated through their branch or sub-club. Those with yellow and white cards will need to sit a new course.

ROs associated with the country branches are still current and branches will revalidate those ROs that are actively working on ranges throughout the year.

Training policy

See our Range Officer training policy here.