Only individuals can possess a firearm

While a firearm can be the property of a club or organisation, a firearm can only be lawfully possessed by an individual firearms licence holder and/or endorsement holder.

The individual is responsible for the firearm, not a corporate entity. This is captured in Regulation 40, which states that firearm licence holders who possess arms items on behalf of a shooting club or shooting range must provide the registration details of the firearms and arms items to the Firearms Safety Authority.

Approved club members can supervise the use of club firearms

Any approved club member who holds a firearms licence can directly supervise the use of these club’s firearms.

The individual the firearms are registered to remains responsible

However, the person against whom the 'club firearm' is registered (most often the ‘club armourer’) remains responsible for the lawful possession of the firearm and their safe storage.

If a club armourer’s licence is suspended

If a club armourer’s licence were to be suspended, the club’s firearms must be transferred to another licence holder authorised to act on behalf of the club.

The club’s firearms will need to be registered in the Firearms Registry to this new person, effectively acting as the new club armourer.