New firearms added to prohibited list in Tasmania

Last week, Tas Police announced that a whole bunch of firearms had been added to the prohibited list. While the news has certainly created quite a stir, it is actually not new information. Back in 2017, when Appearance Laws were first being considered in Tasmania, a number of firearms were flagged for assessment. This announcement is simply the results of that assessment.

There are lots of opinions circling around the Internet about Appearance Laws, and whether firearms should be deemed more dangerous just because they look scary. Like everyone, we have our own thoughts about them. But we feel that a more important issue is not our opinions on the assessments, but the confusion that the announcement has created. In the last 24 hours, we have had dozens of phone calls and messages from people confused about which firearms have been banned. This is creating more panic in the hunting community than the announcement itself, so rather than give you yet another opinion piece on firearms legislation, we thought it more important to simply provide clarity around the changes instead. For that reason, we are not making any judgement calls about the decision or about which firearms made the list.

Prohibited Firearms

Schedule 1 of the Firearms Act 1996 lists 12 categories of firearms that are currently prohibited under Tasmanian law. Item 1 on the list prohibits any machine gun, sub-machine gun or other firearm capable of propelling projectiles in rapid succession during one pressure of the trigger. Item 6 on the list prohibits any firearm that substantially duplicates in appearance a firearm referred to in Item 1.

Back in 2017, Firearms Services begun assessing a long list of flagged firearms to determine whether they could be deemed to duplicate firearms from Item 1 of the Prohibited Firearms List.

Which firearms made the banned list?

All of the firearms below were assessed and found to sufficiently duplicate a firearm from Item 1 of the Schedule. While we are not privy to the assessment process used to reach this determination, we did notice that nearly all of these firearms share similarities in functionality or appearance with the AR15. We have included photos of these where we can.

Which firearms got the green light?

The firearms in the list below were also assessed against Item 1 in the Schedule of Prohibited Firearms. Thankfully, they were not deemed to be an issue. This means that all of these firearms can still legally be owned in Tasmania.

Thompson/Center S&W Long Range Rifle Detachable Box Magazine – (category B firearm)
Ruger Charger Tactical (Synthetic) Pistol semi auto in 22LR – (category H firearm)
Ruger Precision – (category B firearm)
Desert Tactical Arms – SRS-A1 – (category B firearm)
Tikka – T3 & T3X TAC A-1 – (category B firearm)
Accuracy International – Arctic Winter – (category B firearm)
Accuracy International – AX308 & AX338 – (category B firearm)
Howa – Tactical 1500 Varmint (AKA the Howa Chassis Rifle) – (category B firearm)
Howa – APC (Aussie Precision Chassis) – (category B firearm)
C-More Competition M26 Sporting Shotgun – bolt action 12 gauge shotgun – (category A firearm)
PWS T3 Tactical Rifle – bolt action rifle in 22LR – (category A firearm)
Ruger Precision Rimfire Rifle – bolt action rifle in 22LR – (category A firearm)
Savage Model 10 Ashbury Rifle – bolt action rifle in 223rem, 308win, 6.5 creedmoor, 300 winmag, 338 lapua mag – (category B firearm)
Savage Model 10 BA Stealth Rifle – bolt action rifle in 223rem, 308win, 6.5 creedmoor, 300 winmag, 338 lapua mag – (category B firearm)
Savage Model 110 BA Stealth Rifle – bolt action rifle in 223rem, 308win, 6.5 creedmoor, 300 winmag, 338 lapua mag – (category B firearm)
Ritter & Stark SLX Rifle – bolt action rifle in 6.5 creedmoor, 308 win, 300 winmag, 338 lapua mag – (category B firearm)
Ruger Mini 14 Target thumbhole stock – semi auto rifle in 223rem, 5.56nato – (category D firearm)
Saiga M12 shotgun – semi auto shotgun in 12 gauge – (category C firearm)
CZ-UB CZ515 Tactical – lever release bolt action rifle in 22LR, 22WMR – (category A firearm)
CZ-UB CZ512 Tactical – semi auto rifle in 22LR, 22WMR – (category C firearm)
Vektor H5 – pump action rifle in 223rem – (category B firearm)
Norinco Hunter (AKA Maegun) – semi auto rifle in 7.62x39mm – (category D firearm)
SKS rifle – semi auto rifle in 7.62x39mm – (category D firearm)
Kriss Vector CRB – semi auto rifle in 22LR – (category C firearm)
Ruger 10/22 Model 11158 – semi auto rifle in 22LR – (category C firearm)

Next steps:

If you do own one of the firearms from the banned list, you will be required by law to legally dispose of the firearm, as they are no longer legal to own in Tasmania.

According to our contact in Firearms Services, this can either be done by surrendering the firearm to Tasmania Police under the Permanent Amnesty, or by surrendering it to a Licensed Firearms Dealer who can then arrange to sell it interstate on your behalf. Just remember that the dealer must be licensed to sell the same category of firearm.

At this stage, no buy-back scheme is being offered.

NOTE: While we have checked all of these details with a senior member of Firearms Services, it is only general information, and is subject to change. If you require more detailed information, we strongly recommend contacting Firearms Services directly on Firearms.Services@police.tas.gov.au or calling your local police station.

What is I Am Hunter?

I Am Hunter wants to change the way hunting is perceived and to change the conversation from a negative one driven by anti-hunters to a positive one led by hunters.

Our goal is to help hunters become positive role models and ambassadors for hunting, while simultaneously helping non-hunters understand why hunting is important.

You can become a supporter and help us achieve our goal and spread a positive message about hunting with the wider community.

Prohibited Firearms

Which firearms made the banned list?

Ruger SR556VT

Ruger SR762

Franklin Armory F17X

Warwick Firearms – WFA1

Australian Automatic Arms Semi-automatic pistol

Australian Automatic Arms Semi-automatic rifle

Smith & Wesson – M&P 15/22

Grand Power Stribog SP9 Pistol

CZ–UB Scorpion Evo 3 S1 Pistol

Remington R-25 Rifle

Ruger Mini 30

Winchester M14

Ruger SR22

Berika SP12BTC Black Ops

Asil Arms HSS12

Heckler & Koch 416D 22LR

Kel-Tec RDB

Kel-Tec RFB

Ruger PC Charger pistol

Lithgow L1A1 SLR

Which firearms got the green light?

Next steps:

What is I Am Hunter?

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