2024 SIFA End of Year Wrap

As 2024 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on the milestones and achievements that have defined SIFA’s year. One of the most significant developments was welcoming TSA Outdoors as a patron member. Established in 1965, TSA Outdoors has become one of Australia’s leading privately-owned distributors of small arms, munitions, thermal imaging equipment, optical instruments, and outdoor essentials. Their membership has strengthened our SIFA’s ability to address the challenges we face and advocate effectively on behalf of the shooting industry.

A key focus this year was government engagement at both state and federal levels where we undertook numerous meetings at both Federal parliament and parliaments across the nation. In addition to our regular consultative group meetings and one to one political advocacy, in New South Wales, our collaboration saw the introduction of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Shooting resulted in the highly successful inaugural NSW ‘Try Shooting’ event, where we introduced over 30 state politicians, advisors and staff to our wonderful sport.

Federally, we were again proud to sponsor the Parliamentary Friends of Shooting Pollies vs Press shoot. Held at the Canberra International Clay Target Club, this event brought together federal government, opposition and crossbench politicians, their staff and members of the press to experience firsthand the safety, discipline and skill involved in shooting sports. These two events encouraged a deeper understanding of the industry and highlighted the importance of evidence-based policy to support law abiding shooters and the industry. Our efforts ensured federal and state lawmakers left with a stronger connection to the shooting community and its positive contributions to the Australian economy and society.

In October, SIFA attended the 2024 SSAA Shot Expo at the Melbourne Showgrounds in Victoria, it was a wonderful weekend engaging with shooters and the shooting industry. The event’s continued success is a great display of the health and diversity of the industry.

SIFA worked with the Western Australian Firearms Community Alliance in fighting the WA Labor Government’s draconian rewrite of the Firearm act and submitted an in-depth consultation paper highlighting the industry’s concerns with the flawed  Act which was unfortunately passed in June. SIFA will continue working with the WAFCA in minimising the impact of this new law and will be watching the 2025 WA State election very closely.

In Tasmania, the industry was confronted with regulatory changes with the cancellation of Exemption No. 4, which affected antique firearms ownership. Due to SIFA and other stakeholders engaging with the Tasmanian Government on this issue, the Government agreed that the initial changes were hasty and unbalanced and committed to legislating a new framework for antique firearm collectors which consultation has now ended.

 We also provided feedback on the draft Tasmanian firearms licence application form to ensure that the process remains fair and reasonable for firearm licence applicants. We raised concerns about the proposed Tasmanian Firearms Licence Application Form, as it is overly broad, intrusive, and ineffective at ensuring safety. Many questions lacked evidence-based justification, risking false positives that could strain police resources and unfairly target responsible applicants. Intrusive questions, such as those on unrelated health conditions or general mental health history, may also discourage individuals from seeking necessary care. SIFA urged Tasmania Police to replace generalised questions with evidence-based ones focused on actual safety risks. SIFA remains committed to working with authorities to develop a fair, practical solution that balances public safety with respect for firearm owners.

SIFA made progress in the Northern Territory earlier this year, after advocating for lifting restrictions that prevented interstate licence holders from purchasing ammunition. The Firearms Policy and Recording Unit (FPRU) had banned such sales, citing section 68A of the Firearms Act 1997, which caused issues for out of state firearms licence holders attending shooting competitions or hunting. We worked with Field and Game, former Senator Nigel Scullion and local dealers to resolve this and after a 6-month battle, we are happy to report that commonsense has been restored in the NT! A temporary exemption was introduced, enabling ammunition sales under certain conditions and we will continue working with the NT Government to resolve this issue permanently.

Another major undertaking was our involvement in the creation of the NSW Firearm Classification Working Party. The primary responsibility of this ‘working party’ is to oversee a comprehensive review of NSW Police firearms classification practices and the development of a firearms classification framework. One of SIFA’s main goals will be to use this forum to work with NSW Police to highlight and hopefully address the inconsistencies in firearms categorisation, particularly with the application of appearance-based controls.

SIFA’s Job Centre,  , continues to provide a highly valuable service to the shooting industry, connecting employers with job seekers and supporting workforce development. By facilitating these opportunities, the platform has become a critical resource for both businesses within the shooting industry and perspective candidates. Advertising on the job board is free to any business within the industry and is highly encouraged.

This year also marked a significant transition for SIFA as Manager of Policy and Research, David Voss retired. David’s dedication has greatly benefited SIFA and his knowledge, expertise and demeanour will be missed. In his place, we welcomed Keith Drain as Manager, Communications and Policy. Keith’s perspective and experience is already proving valuable in addressing key priorities and planning for 2025.

SIFA has worked tirelessly in 2024 across all Australian jurisdictions and have managed to get several positive results for the shooting industry as well as working on several ongoing issues and other matters we address that I have not had the space to mention here.

In 2025, SIFA will continue its work in advocating for industry as we are certain to continue facing

I would like to thank our members, the SIFA Board and our dedicated staff for their tireless contributions and efforts throughout the year. Their commitment and hard work have been instrumental in driving our successes and supporting the shooting industry.

On behalf of everyone at SIFA, thank you for your continued support and I wish you all a safe and merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Kind Regards,

James Walsh

Chief Executive Officer

Shooting Industry Foundation Australia