Firearm Storage Laws SA: The Code, the Penalties and Your Licence
Firearm storage laws in South Australia
Most people reading this page have done nothing wrong on purpose. You hold a licence, you bought a safe, and now a notice or a knock at the door has raised a question you cannot find a clean answer to. There is a reason for that. The firearm storage laws SA licence holders follow sit inside a code of practice, and the penalty depends on which part of the code is said to have been breached. Every hour matters, so book a same-day free 30-minute consultation or call (08) 7094 2021 to speak with a senior criminal lawyer.
Firearm storage: key facts
| Issue | Position in South Australia |
|---|---|
| The offence | Contravening a provision of the code of practice for the security, storage and transport of firearms, ammunition, parts, sound moderators and restricted mechanisms, section 35(3) of the Firearms Act 2015 (SA). |
| Where the rules are | Schedule 1 to the Firearms Regulations 2017 (SA), which regulation 64 makes the code of practice for section 35. Part 2 deals with security and storage; Part 3 with transport. |
| Maximum penalty | Set by the offence category the code declares for the provision breached: category A $75,000 or 15 years, down to category F $2,500. Where the code declares a category E or F contravention expiable, the expiation fee is $315 or $210. |
| Which court | Category D, E and F contraventions are summary offences and category C contraventions are minor indictable offences, usually dealt with in the Magistrates Court where not expiated. Category A and B contraventions carry more than 5 years and are major indictable offences for the District Court (Criminal Procedure Act 1921 (SA), section 5). |
| What the prosecution must prove | That the item is a firearm, ammunition or related item within the Act, that you possessed it within the extended meaning in section 6, and that the storage or transport did not meet the clause cited. |
| Police inspection | Section 57(8) and (9): where police suspect on reasonable grounds that a firearm has not been kept safely and securely, they may inspect the firearm and the means of securing it, and enter and search premises. Section 57(10) deems reasonable cause where a licensee has not complied with a licence condition requiring a storage audit or permitting inspection. |
| Forfeiture | Section 63(2)(d): in proceedings the Registrar brings, a court may order forfeiture of a seized item where the owner failed to comply with the Act's requirements for its safe storage or transport. Those proceedings do not depend on a conviction. A sentencing court can also order forfeiture on a finding of guilt (section 66). |
| Licence consequences | Storage non-compliance is a ground on which you may be taken not to be fit and proper (section 7(3)(a)), and so a ground for refusal and cancellation (sections 15 and 20). A category A, B or C contravention is an indictable section 35 offence, which is prescribed: a finding of guilt bars a new licence for 5 years and requires cancellation (sections 15(5) and 20(7)). A cancellation under section 20(6) or (7) bars a new application for 3 years (section 14(4)). |
| Typical outcome | Outcomes range from an expiation notice, for a category E or F contravention the code declares expiable, to prosecution, a fine and forfeiture. The licence consequence often outweighs the fee, and under the predecessor Act forfeiture was held likely where obligations were deliberately disregarded (Jaworski v Police [2009] SASC 284 at [25]). Every case turns on its facts. |
| First step | Read the clause and the date on the notice, then a same-day free 30-minute consultation. Call (08) 7094 2021. |
What are the firearm storage laws in SA?
Firearm storage laws in SA sit in a code of practice made under the regulations, not in a single offence section. Section 35 of the Firearms Act 2015 (SA) (the Act) allows the regulations to set out a code of practice for the security, storage and transport of firearms, ammunition, firearm parts, sound moderators and restricted firearm mechanisms. Contravening a provision of that code is the offence.
That structure is why your search came back empty. No line in the Act reads “unsafe storage, penalty $X”. There is a code, and a ladder of offence categories behind it.
Regulation 64 of the Firearms Regulations 2017 (SA) (the Regulations) provides that, for the purposes of section 35, the Code of Practice for the Security, Storage and Transport of Firearms, Ammunition and Related Items is set out in Schedule 1. Schedule 1 is therefore the operative document: Part 2 deals with security and storage, Part 3 with transport. The code applies to anyone in possession of a firearm, whether or not they hold a licence (clause 3(2)).
This page sits under our firearms offences in South Australia guide, and it is written for licence holders worried about compliance as much as for people already holding a notice. Its figures are current to the Act as in force 19 February 2026 and the Regulations as in force 8 July 2021.
Every hour matters when a notice has a date on it. Book a same-day free 30-minute consultation, or call (08) 7094 2021 to speak with a senior criminal lawyer before the date passes.
On this page
- Why there is no single storage penalty
- What the code covers
- Transporting a firearm
- Responsibility for someone else's firearm
- Police storage inspections
- Forfeiture over a storage failure
- How similar matters tend to play out
- Expiation notices
- Your licence
- What else a storage question can turn into
- Gel blasters
- Case law in South Australia
- Frequently asked questions
Why is there no single firearm storage penalty in South Australia?
Because under the firearm storage laws the penalty attaches to the code provision, not to storage in general. Under section 35(3) of the Act, contravening a provision of the code is an offence, and the maximum penalty is set by the offence category that the code declares for that particular provision. There are six categories, running from A down to F.
| Offence category | Maximum penalty | Expiation fee |
|---|---|---|
| Category A | $75,000 or 15 years imprisonment | None |
| Category B | $50,000 or 10 years imprisonment | None |
| Category C | $20,000 or 4 years imprisonment | None |
| Category D | $10,000 or 2 years imprisonment | None |
| Category E | $5,000 or 1 year imprisonment | $315 where the code declares it expiable |
| Category F | $2,500 | $210 where the code declares it expiable |
Offence categories under section 35(3) of the Act and the maximum penalty each carries. Current to the Act as in force 19 February 2026.
Section 35(3) provides expiation fees only for category E and F offences, and only where the code declares the particular contravention expiable. Keeping ammunition other than in a locked container separately from firearms is one example: clause 12(5) makes it a category F offence that is expiable. If you hold a notice, the fee and the provision are printed on it, and that is the first thing to read.
The spread is the point. A category F matter has a ceiling of $2,500 and can be expiated for $210. A category A matter has a ceiling of $75,000 or 15 years imprisonment.
So the question that decides a storage matter is never “what is the penalty for bad storage”. It is “which provision am I said to have contravened, and what category does the code declare for it”. The common provisions map like this:
| Code provision | What it requires | Offence category |
|---|---|---|
| Clause 5 | All reasonable precautions against loss, theft or access by an unauthorised person | C for a prescribed firearm; D for a category C, D or H firearm; E for any other firearm, a sound moderator or a restricted mechanism; F for ammunition |
| Clause 6 | No loaded firearm in storage or on display | C |
| Clause 7 | Security of keys and codes; ammunition and firearm keys kept apart; vehicle key kept on you when transporting | C |
| Clause 8 | Notice to the Registrar before changing where a firearm is kept, and approval before changing how it is secured | E, expiable |
| Clause 11(3)(a) | A firearm kept in a building or outbuilding at your principal place of residence or business | B |
| Clause 11(3)(b) | Safe or storage level required by the number and categories of firearms kept | C for fewer than 20 firearms; B for 20 to 49; A for 50 or more, or 30 or more handguns |
| Clause 12(2) | Ammunition kept at your principal place of residence or business | B |
| Clause 12(4) | Ammunition inside a building or outbuilding, in a locked container, separately from firearms | F, expiable |
| Clause 26(1) | A firearm locked in the boot or another lockable compartment during transport, apart from ammunition where possible | C for a prescribed firearm; D for a category C, D or H firearm; E for any other firearm; E, expiable, for ammunition |
| Clause 27 | No loaded firearm in transport | C |
| Clause 28 | No unattended vehicle with a firearm, except with a reasonable excuse, locked, and for no longer than necessary | C |
Offence categories declared by the code in Schedule 1 to the Regulations. Current to the Regulations as in force 8 July 2021.
The category does more than set the fine. A contravention declared to be a category A, B or C offence carries 4 years or more, which makes it an indictable offence, and indictable offences against section 35 are prescribed offences for licensing (Schedule 2, Part 4 of the Regulations). That has consequences for your licence, explained below.
Offence categories are not firearm categories
Worth clearing up early, because the letters collide. The code uses A to F for offence categories. The Act separately uses A, B, C, D and H for firearm categories under section 5, the scheme that classifies the firearm itself and drives the penalty tiers on possession offences.
Two systems, two jobs. A category A firearm has nothing to do with a category A offence. Check which system the letter on your notice belongs to before you draw a conclusion.
What does the firearm storage code actually cover?
More than the gun cabinet. The firearm storage laws reach beyond the safe itself. Section 35 describes a code for the security, storage and transport of firearms, ammunition, parts, sound moderators and restricted mechanisms. Schedule 1 carries a general duty to prevent loss or theft, then separate storage provisions for paint-ball firearms, for other firearms, for ammunition, and for moderators and restricted mechanisms.
| What the code reaches | Where it sits in Schedule 1 |
|---|---|
| General duty to prevent loss or theft | Part 2, clause 5 |
| No loaded firearm in storage; security of keys; changing where or how a firearm is kept | Part 2, clauses 6 to 8 |
| Storage of paint-ball firearms, including gel blasters | Part 2, clause 10 |
| Storage of other firearms, by the number and categories kept | Part 2, clause 11 |
| Storage of ammunition | Part 2, clause 12 |
| Storage of sound moderators and restricted mechanisms | Part 2, clause 13 |
| Transport: general duty, security in transit, loaded firearms, unattended vehicles, commercial transport | Part 3, clauses 25 to 29 |
Security, storage and transport provisions of the code in Schedule 1 to the Regulations.
The provisions are prescribed by regulation, and the wording of each one is what an allegation is measured against. General descriptions, including those on this page, point you to the right clause rather than replace it.
Storing the firearm itself
Clause 11 deals with firearms other than paint-ball firearms. A firearm not in use must be kept in a building or outbuilding at your principal place of residence, or your principal place of business if you hold it for the business (clause 11(3)(a)). How it must be secured depends on the number and categories of firearms kept at the premises, counting every resident’s firearms together (clause 11(2) and (3)(b)). With fewer than 20 firearms and none in category C, D or H, a level 1 safe is required under the main roof of the house, and a level 2 safe anywhere else, including an outbuilding. With fewer than 20 firearms and at least one in category C, D or H, a level 2 safe is required. From 20 firearms the storage levels apply, adding CCTV or an alarm, and from 50 firearms, or 30 or more handguns, storage level 3, a strongroom with both. A manner the Registrar approves is an alternative at every tier.
The code itself sets the safe specifications in clause 2. A level 1 safe has a body and door of structural grade mild steel at least 2 millimetres thick, and a level 2 safe at least 3 millimetres. The door must be recessed or flush fitted, with a 3 point locking mechanism, a pin combination lock, a pick resistant deadlock or a biometric scanner, or a covered external lock of the specified size. A safe that weighs less than 150 kilograms empty must be bolted to the floor, a wall or another permanent internal structure with at least 2 solid anchor bolts (clause 11(6)). A prescribed safe, of steel at least 1.6 millimetres thick, can be used only under transitional rules for a safe owned and used when the clause commenced (clause 11(7)).
Check the clause against your own holding before you spend money on a safe or an installation. The count of firearms at the premises, not just your own, decides the tier.
Storing ammunition
Clause 12(4) requires ammunition not in use to be kept inside a building or outbuilding, in a locked container, separately from firearms, and a breach is a category F offence that is expiable (clause 12(5)). Ammunition kept in the same safe as a firearm counts as separate only if it is in its own compartment or container, secured with a key that cannot open the safe (clause 12(6)). Ammunition must also be kept at your principal place of residence or business unless the Registrar approves another place, a category B offence (clause 12(2) and (3)). Keys matter too. The key to the ammunition container must not be kept in a safe holding a firearm the ammunition fits, and the safe key must not be kept in the ammunition container (clause 7(3) and (5), each a category C offence). People trip over this one most easily: a box of cartridges in the same safe as the rifle is a habit rather than a decision.
Whether you may hold the ammunition at all is a separate question. Under section 31 of the Act, acquiring, owning or possessing ammunition is an offence unless you hold a firearms licence for a firearm of a category designed to fire it, or a permit for that kind of ammunition, with exceptions for dealers and clubs. There is no aggravated form. The maximum is $10,000 or imprisonment for 2 years (section 31(12)), and the person charged must prove the licence, permit or exception (section 31(3)).
Sound moderators and restricted mechanisms
Clause 13 covers the storage of sound moderators and restricted firearm mechanisms, with the same level 1 and level 2 safe rules as firearms. If you hold either, they sit inside the code in their own right and can be looked at on their own.
The general duty in clause 5
Clause 5 requires a person in possession of a firearm, ammunition, sound moderator or restricted mechanism to take all reasonable precautions to prevent it being lost or stolen or reaching an unauthorised person. A breach is a category C offence for a prescribed firearm, D for a category C, D or H firearm, E for any other firearm or a moderator or restricted mechanism, and F for ammunition (clause 5(2)). A duty framed that way can apply even where the specific storage requirements were met on their face and the firearm was still taken.
If a firearm is stolen from your property, the questions that follow are not only about the thief.
What are the rules for transporting a firearm in SA?
Transport sits in Part 3 of the same code, so the same offence provision and the same category ladder apply. The clauses cover a general duty, security in transit, a requirement that the firearm not be loaded, a prohibition on leaving a firearm unattended in a vehicle, and commercial transport. Where the vehicle has a lockable boot, glove box or other compartment or fixed container, the firearm must be locked in it, and kept apart from ammunition where there is more than one and it is reasonably practicable (clause 26(1)). The firearm must be out of sight so far as reasonably practicable (clause 26(4)), it must not be loaded, a category C offence with a limited primary production exception (clause 27), and you must keep the vehicle key on you or under your immediate control (clause 7(7)).
Under clause 28, a vehicle carrying a firearm may be left unattended only with a reasonable excuse, only if it is securely locked, and only for as long as is reasonably necessary. A breach is a category C offence, with a maximum of $20,000 or 4 years. A rifle left in a locked ute while you stop for fuel on the way back from a property is the fact pattern that raises the question.
Whether a given stop is a contravention is a question for the clause, not for a rule of thumb passed around at a range. Many of those predate the current firearm storage laws in SA.
Who is responsible for storing a firearm that is not yours?
Possibly you. Section 6 of the Act defines possession broadly. It covers physical possession or control, having a firearm in the physical possession or control of another person, having and exercising access to it, controlling access to it, and occupying or managing premises where a firearm is found, subject to the defences in section 6(3).
That definition is why storage questions are rarely just about the registered owner. A rifle in a shed on a property you manage, a partner’s firearm in a house you occupy, a mate’s shotgun left with you while he moves: each raises a question about who was responsible, and section 6 answers it, not the registration. Under the equivalent 1977 provision, the premises limb was read disjunctively, so any one of occupation, care, control or management was enough: R v Sandery [2013] SADC 38 at [25].
Our page on what possession means under the Firearms Act works through those limbs, because the same definition drives both offences.
If you have agreed to hold someone else’s firearm, you have taken on the storage obligation that goes with it, whatever the arrangement between you was, because the code applies to anyone in possession of a firearm (clause 3(2)).
What happens if police check your firearm storage?
Storage checks are how the firearm storage laws are enforced in practice, and the Act gives police a specific power to make them. Under section 57(8), a police officer who suspects on reasonable grounds that a person in possession of a firearm has failed to keep it safely and securely may inspect the firearm and the means by which it has been secured. Under section 57(9)(b), the officer may enter and search premises where the officer suspects on reasonable grounds there is a firearm that has not been kept safely and securely. Section 57(10) then deems reasonable cause to suspect where a licensee has failed to comply with a licence condition requiring a storage audit on the Registrar’s written request, or permitting inspection at a reasonable time. Refusing an inspection is, in other words, a way of supplying the grounds for one.
The threshold is a suspicion on reasonable grounds, and it must exist when the power is used. A suspicion on reasonable grounds and a reasonable suspicion are different concepts: R v Riera [2016] SADC 108 at [72]. Under the predecessor entry power, the suspicion had to exist at the time of each activity the power authorises, so a search could not continue once the suspicion was dispelled: Yuen v Police [2012] SASC 149 at [16] and [22]. The Court of Criminal Appeal has also warned that conduct which seems odd should not too quickly be treated as a sign of illegality: R v Marafioti [2014] SASCFC 8 at [13]. Evidence of another offence found in the course of a lawful search is admissible: Riera at [84].
Where something is found to be out of order, two things decide what follows: which provision of the code is said to have been contravened, and what was said at the time. Both are easier to think about before a visit than after one.
It is natural to be helpful during a check, and what you say is also evidence. An offhand comment about how long the ammunition has been in that cabinet, or who else has a key, can settle a question that would otherwise have to be proved. Under section 55, police may require a person they suspect on reasonable grounds has knowledge of matters relevant to the administration or enforcement of the Act to answer questions, with a maximum of $20,000 or 4 years for refusing without reasonable excuse, or $10,000 or 2 years if prosecuted summarily, so the interaction between that power and your position needs advice before rather than after.
If a check turns into a notice or a charge, keep everything: the notice, any paperwork, photographs of the storage as it stood on the day, receipts for the safe and its installation, and a note of who said what. Detail disappears the moment you fix the problem.
Fix the problem anyway. Then document that you fixed it, because that record does work later.
Key points
- Police can inspect a firearm and its storage where they suspect on reasonable grounds that it has not been kept safely and securely, and a licence audit or inspection condition that was not complied with supplies the grounds by force of section 57(10).
- The suspicion must exist at each step of an inspection or search, and what is found lawfully is admissible even if it relates to a different offence.
- What you say during a check is evidence about access and storage history, the two things that decide a storage matter.
Can your firearms be forfeited over a storage failure?
Yes. Under the firearm storage laws, seizure and forfeiture are separate steps. Police seize under section 57; forfeiture needs a court order. The Registrar can apply to a court of summary jurisdiction under section 63, and the grounds in section 63(2) include, at paragraph (d), that the owner has failed to comply with the Act’s requirements for the safe storage or transport of the item. A seized item can be held until proceedings are started or a decision is made not to start them, or for 12 months, whichever comes first, and then until any proceedings started within the 12 months are finally determined (section 63(3)). Separately, a court that finds a person guilty of an offence involving a firearm can order forfeiture itself (section 66(1)(a)).
The cases below were decided under the 1977 Act, whose forfeiture provisions were framed differently, so they guide rather than decide the exercise of the current powers. Forfeiture orders are protective, not punitive, and the public interest in safe storage outweighed the firearms’ value as family heirlooms: Pollitt v Police [2007] SASC 382 at [24] and [25]. Where a defendant has deliberately disregarded obligations under the Act, forfeiture is a likely consequence even if harsh, but an order is not made to punish: Jaworski v Police [2009] SASC 284 at [25]. In Jaworski itself, where the breaches came from oversight and negligence, the forfeiture was set aside on resentencing ([26] to [32]). Forfeiture did not depend on a conviction: Castiglione v Police [2003] SASC 209 at [21]; Golding v Police [2007] SASC 159 at [11] and [23]. A court could order forfeiture of some firearms and not others, and forfeiting every firearm could be manifestly excessive: Nixon v Police [2006] SASC 202 at [43], [44] and [47]. An unrepresented defendant should be told that forfeiture is sought, that the order is discretionary, and that they could apply for the firearms to be sold with the proceeds paid to them: Jaworski at [19]. A forfeiture order could be revisited during the holding period before sale: Police v Franco [2008] SASC 268 at [38].
For a licence holder with a collection, the forfeiture application is often the real consequence of a storage matter, and the material that answers it, the storage as it stood, the fix, the receipts and the history, is the same material that answers the licence question. The firearms offences in South Australia guide covers forfeiture in full.
How similar matters tend to play out
Three illustrations of how the code, section 57, section 63 and section 7 combine on ordinary facts. They are not predictions. Outcome depends on the clause, the facts, the record and the material put forward.
The expiation notice. A routine inspection finds a box of cartridges loose in the same safe as two registered rifles. A clause 12(4) notice issues: a category F offence that is expiable, with a $210 fee. Paying it closes the criminal side, but the storage non-compliance is still something section 7(3)(a) lets the Registrar weigh at the next renewal. The better course is to check the clause cited and the facts, fix and photograph the storage, and put the fix on the record whether the fee is paid or the matter is contested.
The unattended vehicle. A rifle is left in a locked ute at a service station and reported. Clause 28 applies: a category C offence with a maximum of $20,000 or 4 years. Because category C makes it an indictable section 35 offence, a finding of guilt is a prescribed offence, which requires the Registrar to cancel the licence and bars a new one for 5 years (sections 20(7) and 15(5)). Whether there was a reasonable excuse, and how long the vehicle was left, are the questions, and what was said at the roadside becomes the evidence.
The stolen collection. A safe is forced during a burglary and six firearms are taken. The clause 5 duty to take all reasonable precautions is engaged even where clause 11 was met on its face, the police inspection under section 57(8) looks at the anchoring and the locking, and the Registrar’s fit and proper assessment follows. Where the storage was in fact compliant, the record of it, receipts, photographs and the installer’s specification, is the best answer to the licence question.
What should you do about a firearm storage expiation notice?
Do not pay it without reading which provision of the code it names. The fee is usually the smallest part of the consequence. Under section 7(3)(a) of the Act, not complying with the requirements for the safe handling, use, storage or transport of firearms is one of the matters on which a person may be treated as not fit and proper.
The notice looks like a parking fine. The Act treats storage compliance as information about you.
An expiation notice sets out your options and the date by which you have to act. Read that part first, then work through three questions.
Is the provision named the provision that was actually contravened? Different clauses carry different offence categories, and a notice is only as good as the clause it cites.
Is the factual account correct? Notices are written quickly, sometimes from a short look at a room. What was in which container, and locked how, is worth checking against your own record.
What will this look like in your file? Not now, but the next time your licence is renewed, varied or reconsidered. That is what the fee amount does not answer.
If you are inside the time the notice gives you, there is room to get advice. Call (08) 7094 2021 or book your Free Consultation, and have the notice in front of you when you call.
What does a firearm storage breach do to your licence?
A breach of the firearm storage laws can put the licence at risk, and for most licence holders that matters more than the fine. Section 7(3)(a) of the Act allows a person to be treated as not fit and proper where they have not complied with the requirements for safe handling, use, storage or transport. Fit and proper is the gateway test for licences and permits.
| Provision of the Act | What it can reach |
|---|---|
| Section 7 | The fit and proper test; storage non-compliance is one of the matters that may be taken into account |
| Section 15 | Grounds for refusing a licence, which include past breaches and not being fit and proper; a licence must not be granted within 5 years of a finding of guilt for a prescribed offence (section 15(5)) |
| Section 20 | The Registrar may vary, suspend or cancel a licence for non-compliance with the Act or licence conditions, and must cancel it on a finding of guilt for a prescribed offence (section 20(7)) |
| Section 14 | After cancellation by the Registrar under section 20(6) or (7), no fresh application may be made for 3 years, subject to any exception in the regulations |
Licensing provisions of the Act that a storage matter can reach. Current to the Act as in force 19 February 2026.
Read the first row carefully, because it cuts both ways. Section 7 makes some things automatic: a person is not fit and proper if prohibited from firearms by court order, subject to a firearms prohibition order, or affected by a physical or mental illness, condition or disorder that makes possession unsafe. Storage non-compliance is not in that group. It sits in the discretionary group, alongside findings of guilt for firearms offences and offences of actual or threatened violence.
Discretionary means it can be taken into account, not that it settles the question. A record does not automatically disqualify, but public safety carries substantial weight: Coff v Registrar of Firearms [2016] SADC 140 at [54]. The relevance of past matters may fade with time, although in Police v Losapio [2007] SASC 112 at [25] seven months was not long enough. That is the space in which a response is made. The exception is a category A, B or C contravention that ends in a finding of guilt, with or without a conviction: as an indictable section 35 offence it is a prescribed offence, and cancellation is then mandatory (section 20(7)). A storage issue fixed promptly, with photographs and receipts to show it, belongs in front of whoever decides.
Section 20 also allows the Registrar to limit a licence rather than cancel it, except on the mandatory ground, and written notice with reasons is required (section 20(9) and (10)). If a decision has been made about your licence, the reasons document is the thing to read first.
If a licence has been refused, suspended or cancelled, there is a review pathway. Section 47 of the Act provides for review by the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The application must be made within 28 days of the decision, or within 28 days after receiving written reasons you asked for, and the Tribunal can extend time (section 47(5) and (6)). Our page on firearms licence appeals sets out the pathway and how those applications are prepared.
Key points
- Storage non-compliance is a discretionary fit and proper factor, not an automatic disqualification, so the evidence of the fix is what the decision turns on.
- A cancellation by the Registrar under section 20(6) or (7) bars a new application for 3 years, and a finding of guilt for a category A, B or C contravention makes cancellation mandatory.
- The SACAT window is 28 days from the decision; diarise it the day you receive it.
What else can a storage question turn into?
A storage matter rarely stays one once firearms are being looked at closely. The same visit can raise questions about whether every firearm was authorised by your licence, and whether each one was registered. Those are separate offences with their own penalty tiers.
A firearm your licence does not cover. Section 9 of the Act asks whether a licence authorised that firearm, not whether you hold a licence at all, so holding a licence is not itself an answer to a section 9 charge.
A firearm that is not registered. Under section 27, possessing an unregistered firearm is a separate offence with its own tiers, subject to a defence in section 27(2) where the firearm came into your possession lawfully not more than 14 days earlier and registration was not reasonably practicable. Our page on possessing an unregistered firearm covers how that runs.
Where these charges are laid together, getting the storage allegation into its correct provision and category can improve the position on everything alongside it.
Where a storage matter is prosecuted rather than expiated, it goes to court. Firearms matters listed in the city are heard at the Adelaide Magistrates Court, and Talon Legal appears there and at suburban and regional registries. Whether a conviction is recorded is a question of its own, and our guide to avoiding a conviction being recorded in South Australia explains how that argument is put. For a licence holder that can matter more than the fine.
Do the secure storage requirements in SA apply to gel blasters?
They do. The firearm storage laws in South Australia apply to a gel blaster because it is a firearm. Regulation 4(1)(b) of the Regulations declares a gel blaster to be a firearm, and regulation 8A brings gel blasters within the definition of a paint-ball firearm, a category A firearm. Both took effect on 15 April 2021. The code applies to firearms, so it applies to them.
Paint-ball firearms have their own storage clause. Under clause 10 of the code, a gel blaster not in use must be kept in a building or outbuilding at your principal place of residence, a category C offence if not. Where fewer than 20 paint-ball firearms are kept at the premises, it must be locked in a level 1 safe, bolted down if it weighs less than 150 kilograms empty, or stored in a manner the Registrar approves, a category D offence if not; a prescribed safe is allowed only under the transitional rules. Clause 11, which governs other firearms, does not apply to paint-ball firearms.
Gel balls are declared not to be ammunition by regulation 3A, so the ammunition provisions of the code do not do work here. The firearm storage provisions still do.
This catches people who bought a gel blaster online and treated it as a toy. Under section 4 of the Act, a firearm includes devices declared by regulation to be firearms. A cupboard is not an answer to the code. Our page on imitation firearms and gel blasters covers the classification.
Firearm storage case law in South Australia
The authorities below decide the points that arise on a storage matter in practice: who is responsible, when police may inspect, and when a court will forfeit. Each is linked to AustLII where AustLII holds the judgment, with the paragraph where the point is made. All were decided under the Firearms Act 1977, and each note says how the point carries across.
| Case | Court | Principle | Pinpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| R v Sandery [2013] SADC 38 | District Court | Premises limb disjunctive; any one of occupation, care, control or management suffices | [25] |
| R v Marafioti [2014] SASCFC 8 | Court of Criminal Appeal | Odd behaviour should not too quickly be associated with illegality | [13] |
| R v Riera [2016] SADC 108 | District Court | Reasonable suspicion and suspicion on reasonable grounds differ; evidence found in a lawful search is admissible | [72], [84] |
| Yuen v Police [2012] SASC 149 | Supreme Court | Suspicion needed at the time of each authorised activity; a search cannot continue once it is dispelled | [16], [22] |
| Pollitt v Police [2007] SASC 382 | Supreme Court | Forfeiture is protective; safe storage outweighed heirloom value | [24], [25] |
| Jaworski v Police [2009] SASC 284 | Supreme Court | Deliberate disregard makes forfeiture likely; duties to an unrepresented defendant; forfeiture set aside for oversight | [19], [25], [32] |
| Castiglione v Police [2003] SASC 209 | Supreme Court | Forfeiture without a conviction where the owner was not fit and proper | [21], [22] |
| Golding v Police [2007] SASC 159 | Supreme Court | No conviction recorded; forfeiture still ordered | [11], [22], [23] |
| Nixon v Police [2006] SASC 202 | Supreme Court | Forfeiture may be partial; forfeiting all firearms was manifestly excessive | [41], [43], [44], [47] |
| Police v Franco [2008] SASC 268 | Supreme Court | A forfeiture order could be revisited during the holding period before sale | [27], [38] |
| Coff v Registrar of Firearms [2016] SADC 140 | District Court | No automatic disqualification; substantial weight on public safety | [54] |
| Police v Losapio [2007] SASC 112 | Supreme Court | Past matters may fade, but seven months was not enough | [25], [26] |
Case notes
R v Sandery [2013] SADC 38
At [25] Judge Tilmouth held that the premises limb of the possession definition is cast disjunctively, so proof of any one of occupation, care, control or management suffices, and that “control” is a less demanding concept than possession at common law. Decided under the 1977 Act.
R v Marafioti [2014] SASCFC 8
Kourakis CJ, with whom Vanstone and Stanley JJ agreed, said at [13] that behaviour which appears odd or different should not too quickly be associated with illegality, although the search in that case was lawful ([14]). Decided under the 1977 Act.
R v Riera [2016] SADC 108
Judge Muscat said at [72] that a reasonable suspicion and a suspicion based on reasonable grounds are different concepts, and at [84] that evidence of another offence discovered in the course of a lawful search is admissible.
Yuen v Police [2012] SASC 149
White J held that the predecessor entry and search power required the officer to have the requisite suspicion at the time of each activity it authorises ([16]), so that a search continued after the suspicion was dispelled was unlawful ([22]). The evidence was nevertheless admitted in the exercise of the discretion ([39], [40]).
Pollitt v Police [2007] SASC 382
Gray J held at [24] that the primary purpose of forfeiture orders is to protect the public rather than to impose penalties, and at [25] that any status the firearms had as rare and valuable family heirlooms was outweighed by the public interest in safe and secure storage. Decided under the 1977 Act.
Jaworski v Police [2009] SASC 284
Sulan J held at [25] that where a defendant has deliberately disregarded obligations under the Act, forfeiture is a likely consequence even if harsh, although an order is not made to punish. At [19] he held that an unrepresented defendant should have been told that forfeiture was sought, that the order was discretionary, and that he could apply for the firearms to be sold with the proceeds paid to him. On resentencing he set aside the forfeiture, because the breaches were due to oversight and negligence ([32]). Decided under the 1977 Act.
Castiglione v Police [2003] SASC 209
Gray J dismissed an appeal against a forfeiture order made although no conviction was recorded, because the magistrate had formed the view that the owner was not a fit and proper person, which under the 1977 Act was the prerequisite to forfeiture without a conviction ([21], [22]).
Golding v Police [2007] SASC 159
Kelly J held at [11] that a conviction did not have to be recorded before forfeiture could be ordered, allowed the appeal, recorded no conviction and ordered the firearm forfeited ([22], [23]). Decided under the 1977 Act.
Nixon v Police [2006] SASC 202
Layton J held that an order was required on conviction but need not be forfeiture ([41]), that forfeiture could be limited to some firearms and not others ([43], [44]), and that forfeiting all the firearms was manifestly excessive on the facts, substituting a two month licence suspension ([47], [49]). Decided under section 34A of the 1977 Act as it then stood, which required an order of some kind on conviction (at [41]); under the current Act, section 66 orders are discretionary.
Police v Franco [2008] SASC 268
Bleby J held that the 1977 Act contemplated re-opening a forfeiture order during the period the Registrar had to hold the firearms before selling them ([27], [38]), and dismissed the police appeal against the setting aside of the order ([40]).
Coff v Registrar of Firearms [2016] SADC 140
Judge Slattery held at [54] that the fitness provisions enliven a discretion only and that committing offences does not automatically mean a person is not fit and proper, but that public safety must be given substantial weight. Decided under the 1977 Act.
Police v Losapio [2007] SASC 112
David J accepted at [25] that the relevance of past offending may fade over time, but held that seven months was not enough, allowed the appeal and restored the decision that the licence holder was not fit and proper ([26]). Decided under the 1977 Act.
What should you do now?
The firearm storage laws in SA reward acting early. If you have a notice, read the provision it cites and the date it gives you before you do anything else, and do not pay it just to make it go away. If you have had a check and heard nothing, photograph your storage as it stands, fix anything that needs fixing, and photograph that too.
If your licence has been suspended or cancelled, treat the time limits as urgent. They are short, and they do not wait for the criminal side of the matter to finish.
We act for licence holders and for people charged with firearms offences across South Australia, and our wider criminal defence practice covers the charges laid alongside them. We will discuss fees and the likely process with you upfront, and we will not promise you an outcome, because these decisions involve discretion and any lawyer who guarantees a result is selling something.
Every hour matters when a notice or a licence decision has a date on it. Book a same-day free 30-minute consultation, or call (08) 7094 2021 to speak with a senior criminal lawyer today.
Frequently asked questions
What is the law for storing guns in South Australia?
The rules sit in a code of practice, not a single storage section. Section 35 of the Firearms Act 2015 (SA) allows the regulations to set out a code covering the security, storage and transport of firearms, ammunition, parts, sound moderators and restricted mechanisms. Regulation 64 of the Firearms Regulations 2017 (SA) provides that the code is set out in Schedule 1.
What is the penalty for unsafe firearm storage in SA?
There is no single figure. Under section 35(3) of the Act, contravening a code provision is an offence, and the maximum is set by the offence category the code declares for that provision. The six categories run from A at $75,000 or 15 years imprisonment down to F at $2,500.
Do I have to store ammunition separately from my firearms?
Yes. Clause 12(4) of the code in Schedule 1 requires ammunition not in use to be kept inside a building or outbuilding, in a locked container, separately from firearms. Ammunition in the same safe counts as separate only if it is in its own compartment or container with a key that cannot open the safe. Whether you may hold the ammunition at all is a separate question under section 31.
What kind of safe do I need for a firearm in South Australia?
It depends on how many firearms are kept at the premises and their categories. Under clause 11 of the code, fewer than 20 firearms with none in category C, D or H need a level 1 safe under the main roof of the house, or a level 2 safe elsewhere or in an outbuilding; fewer than 20 including a category C, D or H firearm need a level 2 safe. The code defines a level 1 safe as at least 2 millimetre steel and a level 2 safe as at least 3 millimetre steel, both with specified locks, and a safe under 150 kilograms must be bolted down. Larger holdings move to storage levels with an alarm or CCTV.
Can police inspect my firearm storage without a warrant?
Yes, where the officer has the required suspicion. Section 57(8) of the Firearms Act 2015 (SA) lets a police officer who suspects on reasonable grounds that a firearm has not been kept safely and securely inspect the firearm and the means of securing it, and section 57(9) lets the officer enter and search premises on the same suspicion. Under section 57(10), a licensee who has not complied with a licence condition requiring a storage audit or permitting inspection is taken to supply the reasonable cause. The suspicion must exist at each step, and what is found lawfully is admissible.
Can the court take my firearms over a storage breach?
Yes. Section 63(2)(d) of the Firearms Act 2015 (SA) lets a court, on the Registrar’s application, order forfeiture of a seized firearm where the owner failed to comply with the storage or transport requirements, and a sentencing court can order forfeiture on a finding of guilt (section 66). Under the predecessor Act, forfeiture was ordered even where no conviction was recorded, public protection outweighed the firearms’ heirloom value, forfeiture was likely where the failure was deliberate, and an order could cover some firearms and not others. Sale with the proceeds paid to you is an alternative to raise.
Can I lose my firearms licence over a storage breach?
It can. Under section 7(3)(a) of the Firearms Act 2015 (SA), not complying with the requirements for safe handling, use, storage or transport is one of the matters on which a person may be treated as not fit and proper. That is discretionary rather than automatic, unless a category A, B or C contravention ends in a finding of guilt: that is a prescribed offence, and the Registrar must then cancel the licence (section 20(7)). Evidence that the problem was fixed is worth putting forward.
Should I just pay a firearm storage expiation notice?
Read the provision it cites first. The fee is often the smallest consequence, because storage non-compliance feeds the fit and proper assessment under section 7 and can bear on later licence decisions. Check that the clause named is the clause actually contravened, and that the facts are right, inside the time given.
What are the rules for transporting a firearm in South Australia?
Transport sits in Part 3 of the same code, so the same offence provision and category ladder apply. Clauses 25 to 29 cover a general duty, security in transit, a requirement that the firearm not be loaded, leaving a firearm unattended in a vehicle, and commercial transport. A vehicle carrying a firearm may be left unattended only with a reasonable excuse, locked, and for no longer than reasonably necessary (clause 28).
Do gel blasters have to be stored like firearms in SA?
Yes. Regulation 4 of the Firearms Regulations 2017 (SA) declares gel blasters to be firearms, and regulation 8A makes them paint-ball firearms, which are category A, so the storage code applies through clause 10, the paint-ball clause. Gel balls are declared not to be ammunition by regulation 3A, so the ammunition provisions do not.
Can I be responsible for storing someone else's firearm?
You can be. Section 6 of the Firearms Act 2015 (SA) defines possession to include control, having and exercising access, controlling access, and occupying or managing premises where a firearm is found, subject to defences in section 6(3). The code applies to anyone in possession of a firearm, licensed or not. If you hold a firearm for someone, the storage obligation comes too.
South Australian courts we attend for firearms matters
Courts we attend
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