Following a considerable amount of work from industry representatives including Shooters Union, SIFA, Nathan Ravenscroft, and James Ryder, we have secured an in-principle agreement from the Queensland Police Minister, Mark Ryan, that suppressors should not be Category R weapons, and should be available, at a minimum, to primary producers and feral pest controllers.
While we would like to see suppressors available for recreational use too, the available information we have indicates there is more likelihood of getting them approved for occupational use, which is why our focus is on that aspect at present.
A briefing paper and report has been prepared by Queensland Police for the Police Minister which we understand supports, at least broadly, the representations industry has made on the matter.
There is still a lot more work to be done and no timeframe for when (or if) things might progress, but this is an important issue to us and we will continue to champion it regardless.
If you are an occupational shooter in Queensland, this video from Nathan on how to lodge a ‘Workplace Concern’ with Worksafe QLD specifically related to the introduction of an engineering solution to firearms noise exposure (suppressors) in QLD might prove interesting:
