Membership FAQs
Answers to your most common questions
Whether you are new to shooting or a long-time member, you might have questions about joining SSAA NSW, firearms licensing, safe shooting courses, mandatory participation requirements or insurance benefits. We have gathered the most common questions here to make finding answers quick and simple.
If you don’t see your question listed, our team is only a phone call or email away — we are always happy to help.
To obtain an NSW Firearms Licence you’ll need to complete a Safe Shooting Course, join SSAA NSW Ltd and select your genuine reason then apply for your firearms licence online through the Gun Safe Portal.
If you want to use SSAA NSW Ltd as your supporting club, you can join online here. Alternatively, you could call the National Membership Office on 02 8805 3900. It takes between 2-3 weeks for your membership to be processed, then you will be issued with a letter confirming your membership. Two or so weeks after that, you will receive your membership card.
If your genuine reason has changed — for example, from Target Shooting (longarms) to Hunting, or if you wish to add or remove a genuine reason — it is important that both your NSW firearms licence and your SSAA membership accurately reflect your genuine reason(s).
The order in which you make these changes matters.
If you are adding a genuine reason
If the new genuine reason requires support through your SSAA membership (for example, adding Hunting supported by SSAA membership as your hunting club), you should:
Contact the SSAA National Membership Office first to update your membership by adding this genuine reason to your membership. Once they send you the confirmation email, log on to the NSW Firearms Registry Gun Safe Portal and apply to add the genuine reason to your firearms licence, providing the required supporting documentation from the national SSAA membership office.
If you are removing or changing a genuine reason
If you are removing a genuine reason or changing from one genuine reason to another:
Update your firearms licence with the NSW Firearms Registry first (and you will need to complete the process on Gun Safe Portal for EACH update).
Wait until the Registry confirms the change and, if applicable, issues your updated firearms licence.
Then contact the SSAA National Membership Office to amend your SSAA membership to match your updated firearms licence genuine reason.
The Gun Safe Portal is a secure online platform operated by the NSW Police Force Firearms Registry that allows firearm licence holders, dealers, clubs and businesses to manage a range of firearm-related transactions online. Via the portal, you can:
- Apply for a firearms licence
- Apply for a Permit To Acquire (PTA)
- Update Safe Storage information
- Update your Genuine Reason
- Update personal details such as address and phone number.
- Receive timely licence renewal reminders via email and SMS.
- Ensure compliance with firearm regulations to avoid penalties.
Log into the Gun Safe Portal, verify your personal details, and make the necessary updates to ensure you receive all notifications.
On our website, there is a list of Safe Shooting Instructors who will be able to help you out. Have a look and contact one that is most convenient for you.
Failure to renew your licence can lead to:
- Your firearm licence being suspended or revoked
- Your firearms being seized
Refer to Part 10 of the NSW Firearms Regulations 2017, available at NSW Legislation.
You can complete your mandatory participation requirements at any NSW range using the SSAA NSW Attendance Book or the Electronic Attendance System (EAS).
Your mandatory participation requirements must align with your nominated genuine reason(s) as listed on the back of your Firearms Licence. The mandatory participation requirements for Target Shooting is four per reporting period (which runs from 1 July to 30 June each year), two for Hunting and one for Collecting.
To obtain a NSW Firearms Licence you will need to complete a Safe Shooting Course (Longarm), provide a document from the list below to support your genuine reason of Recreational Hunting and apply for your firearms licence online via the Gun Safe Portal.
On our website, there is a list of Safe Shooting Instructors who will be able to help you. Have a look and contact one that is most convenient for you.
For Recreational Hunting, there are a few ways of supporting your NSW Firearms Licence:
- You hold a Restricted Game Hunting Licence from the Department of Primary Industries
- Club Membership (for adults, current legislation requires a minimum of 2 in range hunting attendances per reporting year as determined by the club)
- If you wanted to use SSAA NSW as your supporting club, you can join online here. Alternatively, you could call the National Membership Office on 02 8805 3900. It takes between 2-3 weeks for your membership to be processed, then you will be issued with a letter confirming your membership. 2 or so weeks after that, you will receive your membership card
Once you have completed your Safe Shooting Course and received confirmation support documentation, you can apply for your Firearms Licence via the online Service NSW portal.
It also has links to various FACT Sheets you may be interested in.
You need to join a collector’s club to hold a Collectors Licence, that would be able to endorse you.
For adults, current legislation requires you to attend at least one meeting of an approved gun collectors’ society or club of which you are a member. If you want to use SSAA as your supporting club, you can join online here.
Alternatively, you could call the National Membership Office on 02 8805 3900.
The Pistol Safe Shooting Course:
- Is a mandatory safety course for NSW pistol licence applicants
- Covers safe handling, storage, and legal responsibilities
- Includes both theory and practical shooting components
- Is required before applying for a NSW probationary pistol licence (PPL)
For more information on the Probationary Pistol Licence process in NSW, please click here
SSAA NSW maintains high training standards through:
- Regular Instructor and Range Officer reaccreditation to ensure the trainers keep up to date with the latest training standards
- Strict selection criteria for trainers and instructors
- Compliance with SSAA NSW policies to ensure safe and effective training
The annual reporting period runs from the 1st of July to the 30th of June the following year.
Target (Longarm) – 4 shooting attendances
Hunting – 2 hunting club events or mandatory participation requirements in a NSW Firearms Registry approved range
This mandatory participation requirement only applies if membership of an approved hunting club is the sole reason for which the licensee has established the genuine reason of recreational hunting/vermin control.
Collecting – 1 meeting attendance
One meeting of an approved collectors’ society or club of which the licensee is a member
For Handgun/Pistol requirements, please refer directly to your pistol club
Mandatory participation requirements are part of the NSW Firearms Regulations. SSAA NSW do not have the power to offer extensions.
Failure to meet participation requirements without an approved exemption may affect a person’s genuine reason for holding a licence and could result in compliance action or licence review.
When attending the range, sign in with the SSAA NSW Attendance Book or swipe your SSAA card using the Electronic Attendance System (EAS). Those attendances will be sent to us from the Branch or club.
The NSW Firearms Registry is quite specific that NSW licence holders need to have NSW clubs as their principal reporting club as an interstate club falls outside of their regulatory jurisdiction for auditing and compliance requirements.
You are welcome to complete your attendances at an interstate range, provided that range holds approval from the Commissioner to meet the mandatory requirements of holding a NSW Firearms Licence. Your principal reporting club however, should be a NSW Club.
Interstate Clubs
The Firearms Regulation 2017 (NSW) allows for the NSW Firearms Registry to approve interstate clubs as principal clubs for NSW licence holders. The relevant clause was drafted with the intent to permit NSW firearms licence holders to undertake shooting activities at clubs operating near or on the borders rather than travelling long distances to a NSW club.
The NSW Police Force has no concerns about NSW licence holders joining interstate clubs as associate members or participating in activities at interstate clubs; however, if a licence holder declares an interstate club as their principal club it falls outside of our regulatory jurisdiction for auditing and compliance requirements.
Nothing stops an individual licence holder from belonging to an interstate club in addition to their principal club for ease of access to a range or competition.
If you get stuck anywhere along the way, reach out to your local SSAA (NSW) Branch or don’t hesitate to contact SSAA NSW on 02 7900 1555 or email us on admin@nsw.ssaa.org.au