Three people in the Riverina region were charged with a string of offences on November 4, 2023, following a safe storage inspection by rural crime prevention officers. Charges included non-compliance with firearms storage requirements and failure to produce registered firearms for inspection to name a few. For firearms licence holders in NSW, there are a number of general requirements that must be adhered to in relation to the safekeeping of firearms under section 39 of the Firearms Act 1996 and these requirements are assessed as part of routine police safe storage inspections. In Other News: Richard Drozdowski, a trainer for the NSW safe shooting course, said being a firearms licence carrier is a privilege and is about being responsible. "Most firearms licensees are responsible people and do the right thing. When we are talking about firearms owners, they must be model citizens," said Mr Drozdowski. As model citizens, firearms owners must also be aware of the consequences for not complying with requirements and the consequences are severe. "It's up to owners to be aware of their responsibilities when it comes to owning firearms and to be aware of things such as safe storage, registration, notification of change of address and other obligations." "Non-compliance means losing your firearms basically," said Mr Drozdowski. "It's up to you as a firearms owner to be aware of your responsibilities. "If you lose your firearms licence and you lose your privilege to have them, then there is no if and buts before you can look into re-acquiring another licence there is a ten-year wait period." The National Firearms Registry online services public portal is the go-to site for people who currently own a firearms licence or for people who are interested in obtaining a firearms licence. Information on permits, for checking a licence, for changing personal details or for permits is all available on the registry. Mr Drozdowski said it's a valuable resource and should be familiar to anyone who has the vaguest interest in firearms-related concerns. "if you want to know about safe storage, transport of a firearm or ammunition, firearms levels of security for example A,B levels of classification, those are different levels of storage requirements. "All of that information is there, right down to the size of the bolt you need to use to attach the safe to the wall and door thickness and where it should be positioned, there are no excuses basically for not being on top of this stuff." "So, if people are unsure about any of this, the firearms registry is where you should go," says Mr Drozdowski. There is an ongoing firearms amnesty that commenced on July 2021, meaning that people who have come across firearms that are unregistered or belong to somebody else, can surrender those firearms to participating dealers without concern of persecution or can have the firearms registered in their name. Make sure you are signed up for our breaking news and regular newsletters