The toughest firearms laws in the nation have passed Western Australia's parliament, with mandatory licence disqualification for serious offenders such as family and domestic violence perpetrators.
The new laws will also limit the number of guns an individual can own, with primary producers and competition shooters restricted to a maximum of 10 firearms and recreational hunters five.
Under the changes, gun licence applicants must complete mandatory firearms training and all gun owners will be required to undergo regular health assessments and comply with new storage requirements.
Premier Roger Cook said the rewrite of the 50-year-old Firearms Act elevated public safety above the privilege of owning a gun.
“I’m unapologetic for our safety-first approach which strengthens gun controls and enhances public safety," he said on Wednesday.
“We’ve seen the devastating consequences resulting from the misuse of firearms in our community.
“Those tragedies highlight the need to remove guns from people who don’t have a legitimate reason for owning one."
The already tough legislation was further bolstered in recent weeks to enable police to strip guns from family and domestic violence perpetrators following the murder of Perth mother Jennifer Petelczyc and her daughter, Gretl, at the hands of a man searching for his ex-wife.
Jennifer, 59, and Gretl, 18, were shot dead with a handgun by registered firearms owner Mark James Bombara, 63, at their Floreat home in May before he took his own life as police arrived at the property.
He owned 13 guns.
Police will enforce the new laws using a new multi-million-dollar digital licensing and management system that will provide officers with real-time access to firearm licensing data for greater situational awareness during emergencies.
A $64.3 million voluntary buyback scheme has also removed about 14,000 guns from more than 8000 people.
The new laws will come into effect in a phased approach in the coming months.
