Victoria Police Licensing and Regulation Division (LRD) has updated stakeholders on current delays and wait times as the agency manages staff shortages.
The Christmas closure will likely exacerbate these delays.
The longer-than-usual delays in processing new firearm licence applications and renewals are anticipated to persist until March 2023.
New licence applications currently take ninety days to process, and renewal applications take fifty days. LRD is regularly updating wait times on their website. Shooters (and prospective shooters) who have pending applications are advised to check the website for the current status of applications rather than emailing or phoning LRD.
LRD advises that Permit to Acquire applications could take up to thirty days; however, SSAA Victoria understands that the typical wait time at the moment is around a week.
Shooters receive their renewal applications twelve weeks before their licence expires. SSAA Victoria urges members to avoid delays with their renewals and to lodge them in enough time to ensure they have their new licence before their old one expires.
Applications should be sent via traceable means. If posting your application, LRD recommends using Registered or Express Post. If emailing your application, LRD asks that you submit a single clear, high-quality PDF attachment to the email. There is guidance on renewing your license on the LRD website.
SSAA Victoria expects to know who the Police Minister will be in the next week. The Association will be contacting the Minister in December to make representations on behalf of Victoria’s shooters on several topics, including the ongoing resourcing of LRD.
