New laws giving effect to the NZ Government's firearms buy-back scheme have taken effect. The buy-back offer started on 20 June 2019. It runs for six months until 20 December.

The Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Regulations 2019 were passed on 19 June.

Refer to the  Prohibited Firearms Buy-Back Price List.

The Scheme provides for compensation for prohibited firearms, magazines, and prohibited parts that are delivered or otherwise surrendered to the Police during the amnesty period.

The amnesty period is now in effect and ends on 20 December 2019.

Compensation is payable to people who:

• before 3 pm on 21 March 2019 lawfully possessed a firearm that at that time was declared a military style semi-automatic firearm and became a prohibited firearm on 12 April 2019.

• before 12 April 2019 lawfully possessed an item that on that date became a prohibited firearm, prohibited magazine, or prohibited part that cannot be used on a firearm other than a prohibited firearm.

• before 12 April 2019 arranged to lawfully import a firearm, magazine, or part that on that date became a prohibited item, and the item is being treated as prohibited goods under section 98 of the Customs and Excise Act 2018; the item is delivered to the Police by the New Zealand Customs Service; the item is forfeited to the Crown and the person does not obtain a permit to possess the item.

The new laws provide for prohibited items to be delivered to an approved licensed dealer for onwards surrender to the NZ Police. The dealer is required to comply with specific record-keeping requirements when accepting delivery of these things. Possession of those items by an approved licensed dealer is not unlawful if it notifies the Police as soon as is reasonably practicable of the delivery of the item, and the dealer complies with any direction from the Police with respect to the surrender of the item and disclosure of the dealer’s records.

The dealer may charge an administration fee of $50.

These are the exemption categories:

• A licensed dealer, or an employee or agent of a licensed dealer.

• A bona fide collector of firearms.

• A person to whom a prohibited item has special significance as an heirloom or memento.

• A director or curator of a bona fide museum.

• An approved employee or member of a broadcaster (within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1989) or a bona fide theatre company, society, cinematic, television film production company, or video recording production company.

• A person who is employed or engaged by the Department of Conservation and involved in operations for the purpose of controlling wild animals or animal pests. (In accordance with the Wildlife Act 1953, the Wild Animal Control 1977, the Conservation Act 1987, or the Biosecurity Act 1993)

• A person who is the holder of a concession granted by the Minister of Conservation to undertake wild animal recovery operations (In accordance with the Wildlife Act 1953, the Wild Animal Control 1977, the Conservation Act 1987, or the Biosecurity Act 1993)

• A person who is employed or engaged by a management agency as defined in section 100 of the Biosecurity Act 1993 and involved in operations for the purpose of controlling wild animals or animal pests in accordance with that Act.

• A person whose sole business, or a substantial part of whose business, is providing services to control prescribed wild animals or animal pests, or a person employed or engaged by that person for that purpose. Prescribed animals are wild deer, chamois, tahr, wild pigs, wild goats, wallaby, feral rabbit, feral hare, and Canadian Geese.

The buy back price guidelines are below.

Steve Keall
Barrister
26 June 2019