Tasmania Gun Licence: Firearms Categories, Genuine Reasons and Fees (2026)

Tasmania licenses firearms under the Firearms Act 1996, using five firearm type categories and ten genuine reasons that exclude personal protection, alongside a two tier interstate recognition regime for visitors and new residents.

Information last verified 28 September 2026 against the Firearms Act 1996 (Tas), the Magistrates Court (Administrative Appeals Division) Act 2001 (Tas), and Tasmania Police Firearms Services' published pages and fee schedule, effective 1 July 2026.

This page addresses firearms licensing under the law of Tasmania only, administered by Tasmania Police. For the genuine reason framework compared across all eight Australian jurisdictions, see firearms licensing in Australia. For firearm storage requirements compared across states, see firearm storage laws in Australia.

Licence Categories and the Ten Genuine Reasons

The Firearms Act 1996 sets out five firearm type categories, A, B, C, D and H. Category C is limited to primary producers, their employees, or bona fide collectors, and, unless issued only for firearms collection, is capped at one self loading rimfire rifle with a magazine capacity of 10 rounds or fewer, plus one other Category C firearm. Category D is limited to professional vertebrate pest controllers or bona fide collectors. Category H, covering pistols and air pistols, requires a genuine reason of sport or target shooting, business or employment, firearms collection, or security industry work (which excludes close personal protection), and carries its own additional waiting period described below.

Section 37(1) of the Act lists ten genuine reasons, which Tasmania Police groups under eight headings by treating commercial fishing and paintball as forms of business or employment: sport or target shooting, recreational hunting or vermin control, primary production, animal population control, animal welfare, business or employment as a dealer, security agent or guard, fishing for commercial purposes, paintball operation, firearms collection, and show or exhibition.

Genuine Reason: Personal Protection Excluded

Section 37(2) excludes personal protection and general property protection as a genuine reason for a Tasmanian firearms licence, with a narrow exception for a security guard's own employment duties. This mirrors the position across Australia; see self defence and firearms law in Australia for the position in other jurisdictions.

Fit and Proper Person, Prohibited Persons and Training

Section 29(1) bars the Commissioner from granting a licence unless the applicant is at least 18, is a fit and proper person and has satisfactorily completed an approved firearms safety course. In deciding whether a person is fit and proper, section 29(2) lists matters including any likelihood of the person using a firearm for an unlawful purpose or to harm themselves, their mental and physical condition, any criminal activity, and any restraint or family violence order in force or made in the previous 5 years.

Section 29(3) bars a licence outright for, among others, a person convicted of a crime involving violence within the previous 5 years, a participant in an identified organisation, a person subject to a firearms prohibition order or a restraint or family violence order relating to personal injury, and a person the Commissioner considers a risk to public safety based on criminal intelligence.

Age and Minors' Permits

Only an adult can hold a full Tasmanian firearms licence. A separate minor's permit is available for ages 12 to 17 under Division 2 of the Act, and requires written parental or guardian permission. The permit carries two tiers of authority. A permit granted to a 12 or 13 year old under section 70(2) authorises use only on an approved range, under supervision, for instruction or target shooting. A permit granted to a 14 to 17 year old under section 70(1) also allows what Tasmania Police describes as use in the field, but shooting in the field requires completion of an approved firearms safety course and the immediate supervision of a licence holder who has held their own licence continuously for at least a year. The permit automatically expires when the holder turns 18, or earlier if cancelled. A minor's permit carries its own fee of $37.24, against $25.48 for any other permit.

Permit to Acquire and Category H Waiting Periods

Section 61(b) requires at least 28 days from lodging a permit to acquire application before it can be granted, unless the applicant already possesses a registered firearm under a Tasmanian licence (of any category), in which case the Commissioner may grant it once there has been time to consider it properly, normally not less than 14 days. A permit is valid for 90 days from issue or until the firearm is acquired, whichever comes first, under section 65.

Category H carries an additional graduated entitlement. For a Category H licence held for sport or target shooting, section 60(4)(c) and section 61(c) require the applicant to have held that licence, and been a member of an approved pistol shooting club, for at least 6 months; the permit may then cover up to 2 pistols of different types from a short list: a .22 inch calibre pistol, a .177 inch calibre air pistol, a centre fire pistol and a black powder muzzle loader. Under section 61(d), the other pistols the licence covers under section 18(3) require at least 12 months of licence holding and club membership.

Licence Term and Current Fees

Under section 49, a licence is in force for 5 years from issue, or for a shorter prescribed period. Tasmania Police's fee schedule, effective 1 July 2026 to June 2027, sets the following application fees; a term is shown only where the schedule states one.

Concession rates apply to most items at roughly 80 percent of the standard fee.

Storage Requirements and Penalties

Tasmania Police's storage and safekeeping guidance, matched against the Act, requires a firearm not in use, maintenance or transit to be kept in a locked receptacle of metal at least 2 millimetres thick for Category A or B, or at least 3 millimetres thick for Category C, D or H, or in concrete. A receptacle weighing less than 150 kilograms empty must be fixed with masonry bolts or coach screws at least twice to a wall and twice to the floor, or at least four times to either a wall or the floor. Ammunition must be stored separately, in a differently keyed receptacle. Holding a Category H firearm, or 10 or more firearms of any category, adds a requirement for an alarm or a visual recording device meeting specified standards. Full detail on storage requirements across states is at firearm storage laws in Australia.

Storage breaches carry two separate penalty scales. Section 84, the general safekeeping duty that applies to every licensee, carries a maximum of 20 penalty units ($4,260), or imprisonment up to 12 months, for an ordinary firearm, rising to 50 penalty units ($10,650) or 2 years for a prohibited firearm. Section 85, the category specific prescribed storage requirement, carries 60 penalty units ($12,780) for a basic Category A, B, C or D breach, rising to 100 penalty units ($21,300) if the licensee holds 10 or more firearms of those categories, and 100 penalty units ($21,300) for any Category H storage breach. Dollar figures use the Tasmanian penalty unit value of $213 that applies from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.

Transport

Section 104 requires anyone conveying a firearm or ammunition to comply with the prescribed safety requirements, with a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units ($10,650) or 12 months imprisonment. Tasmania Police's Information Sheet 29 summarises those requirements, which it attributes to regulation 18 of the Firearms Regulations 2016: the firearm must be unloaded, ammunition must be in a closed container completely separate from any firearm, and at least one of the following must apply: the firearm is in a locked receptacle, its bolt is in a closed container completely separate from it, or it is fitted with a mechanism that locks or disables the trigger or action.

Registration

Part 4, Division 1 of the Act governs firearm registration. Section 83 requires the Commissioner to maintain a register of firearms, designed so it can be linked to the Australian Crime Commission and accessed by approved interstate authorities, a cross jurisdictional data sharing feature that predates the current National Firearms Register program.

Interstate Recognition

Tasmania operates a genuine two track reciprocity regime. Under section 55, a visitor competing in an approved shooting competition does not need a Tasmanian Category A, B or H licence if they hold a corresponding interstate licence, and a visitor hunting or controlling vermin does not need a Category A or B licence under the same condition, together with written permission from the landowner. Tasmania Police notes that taking game also requires a separate Tasmanian hunting licence. Tasmania Police states plainly that the Act does not provide for mutual recognition of Category C or D licences for visitors at all.

Under section 56, a person moving to Tasmania who notifies the Commissioner in writing of their intent to reside there may rely on a corresponding Category A or B licence for 3 months, or a corresponding Category C, D or H licence for 7 days, from the date of the notice, before they must obtain a Tasmanian licence.

Review of a Refusal

Part 10 of the Act, section 141, allows a person to apply to the Magistrates Court, Administrative Appeals Division, for review of a licence or permit refusal, a failure to decide, most cancellations (a cancellation under section 51(1) is excluded), a firearms prohibition order, certain conditions, or a refusal to approve a shooting gallery, club or range. The Act fixes the date a decision is taken to have been made by reference to specific notice or service events depending on the decision type. The Magistrates Court (Administrative Appeals Division) Act 2001 section 17 requires the application within 28 days of being notified of the decision (or of receiving requested reasons), and section 20 lets the Court extend that time.

Reforms and the National Firearms Register

The National Firearms Register implementation program commenced nationally on 1 July 2024, and the register is expected to be complete by mid 2028. Tasmania Police's own project update, published in September 2026, describes validating the state's registered firearms against the national identification database template, building a licence holder online portal, and requiring dealers to submit sales and transfers within 24 hours once the portal launches. Tasmania Police states it is not adopting a Northern Territory style mandatory self check of every firearm.

Supporting legislation for these changes is not yet law. The Firearms Amendment (Strengthening Firearms Security) Bill, which Tasmania Police says contains the legislative changes needed to support the National Firearms Register, was tabled in the House of Assembly on 20 August 2026 and passed that House on 10 September 2026, when the Government said it would progress to the Legislative Council later in the year. As of 28 September 2026 it had not passed the Legislative Council or received assent. The July 2026 consultation draft was titled the Firearms Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2026. The Australian Government also announced a National Firearms Buyback Scheme on 19 December 2025 to remove newly banned and illegal firearms; Tasmania Police states that operational detail, and any Tasmania specific effect, was not yet available as of this article's verification date.

For the eight jurisdiction genuine reason comparison and the national licensing framework, see firearms licensing in Australia, and for the full weapons law hub, see Australia weapons law.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the firearms licence categories in Tasmania?

Categories A, B, C, D and H under the Firearms Act 1996. Each licence is tied to one of the ten genuine reasons in section 37(1), including sport and target shooting, recreational hunting, primary production, animal population control, business or employment use, firearms collection, and show or exhibition.

Can I get a Tasmania firearms licence for self defence?

No. Section 37(2) excludes personal protection and general property protection as a genuine reason, with a narrow exception for a security guard's own employment duties.

How long does a permit to acquire take in Tasmania?

At least 28 days under section 61(b) for an applicant who does not already possess a registered firearm under a Tasmanian licence. If the applicant already possesses one, of any category, the Commissioner may grant the permit once there has been time to consider it properly, normally not less than 14 days.

Can I use my interstate firearms licence in Tasmania?

A visitor competing in an approved shooting competition can rely on a corresponding interstate Category A, B or H licence, and a visitor hunting or controlling vermin with written landowner permission can rely on a corresponding Category A or B licence, under section 55 (a separate Tasmanian hunting licence is needed to take game); Category C and D licences are not recognised for visitors. A new Tasmanian resident who notifies the Commissioner in writing may rely on an interstate Category A or B licence for 3 months, or a Category C, D or H licence for 7 days, under section 56.

Can a minor get a firearms permit in Tasmania?

A minor's permit is available from age 12 to 17 with parental or guardian permission. A permit for a 12 or 13 year old allows supervised range use only. A permit for a 14 to 17 year old also allows supervised use in the field, as Tasmania Police describes it, but only after an approved safety course and under a licence holder who has held their own licence for at least a year. The permit ends automatically at 18.

What does a Tasmania firearms licence cost?

Current Tasmania Police fees, effective 1 July 2026, include $176.40 for a five year Category A, B or H licence, $50.96 for a Category D licence, and $37.24 for a minor's permit, with concession rates available for each.