By SIFA confirms additional LRD resources to deal with Victorian permit delays
The Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia (SIFA) has been working to address the issue of permit delays at the Licensing and Regulation Division (LRD) of Victoria Police.
Following a meeting with Mr. Paul Edbrooke, then Chair VFCC and Parliamentary Secretary for Police, SIFA formally represented this issue to former Minister of Police Hon. Lisa Neville MP in May 2022.
SIFA highlighted our concern that the significant delays were negatively impacting industry and licensed firearms dealers, through lost revenue, reductions in cash flow and placing additional stresses on business infrastructure by having to find more space to securely store firearms whilst they await permits to be approved.
We can now report we have received formal response from the Minister of Police Hon. Anthony Carbines MP, acknowledging our concerns and confirming that the Government is committed to providing Victoria Police with the resources required to efficiently regulate the firearms industry in Victoria.
In his response he stated that “Victoria Police is allocating additional resources to LRD to address a significant increase in firearms licensing applications”.
Minister Carbines has also announced that LRD have now established a phone service specifically for licensed dealers to call and raise any urgent concerns surrounding outstanding PTA applications.
This is a positive response for Victorian LFD and licensed firearms owners, and SIFA thanks Minister Carbines for his quick resolution of this matter.
SIFA will continue to hold Government and regulatory bodies accountable to ensure efficient regulation and regulator performance.
We will monitor this issue in Victoria and provide updates as they become available to us.
