Why policy sometimes goes wrong
A research note for the sporting shooters community
by Suzanna Fay, PhD
Picture this: A gun dealer is halfway through his workday when city workers start pouring concrete outside his shop. They’re installing bollards to prevent ram raids – trucks driving through storefronts to steal firearms. The dealer stops what he is doing and rushes out to the city workers to point out that the bollards are spaced so far apart that a car could still drive between them. This story perfectly captures what gun dealers often told me about Australia’s gun laws: the ideas are often sound, but the implementation is terrible.
Over the course of my research, talking with gun dealers across Australia, the message about what is wrong with Australia’s gun laws was clear. While many members of the gun community I spoke with agreed with the overall intent of the laws to enhance public safety, they often lamented the way in which they were enacted. These aren’t complaints about the existence of gun laws – they’re about how poorly they’re often implemented and managed.
The real issues gun dealers face – police treat them like criminals
The biggest complaint from gun dealers isn’t about the laws themselves; it’s about how police treat them during inspections and interactions. Dealers consistently report feeling like police approach them as criminals rather than business partners trying to achieve the same goal of public safety.
“There were a couple of officers, and all they wanted to do was find something wrong and prosecute you for it,” one dealer explained. Another said: “It’s definitely us vs them…the culture is: we’re the police and we’re here to police the firearm dealers, not work with firearms dealers.”
This adversarial approach creates tension where there should be cooperation. Dealers often mentioned that they try to minimise interactions with police to avoid these tense exchanges. When the very people responsible for implementing gun laws feel like they’re being treated as the enemy, it undermines the whole system.
The irony is that dealers and police should be working toward the same goals. Both want to keep guns away from dangerous people and ensure proper compliance. Yet 90 per cent of dealers in the study reported negative emotions about their interactions with firearms registry police.
Their expertise gets ignored
Gun dealers are experts in their field. They have practical, technical and historical knowledge about firearms that few others possess. Yet they consistently report feeling excluded from important decisions about gun laws and regulations.
When Australia’s gun laws were developed in 1996, dealers felt their input was either ignored or consultation was token at best. “Our senior people went to Canberra and desperately tried to have some consultation and were roundly refused,” one dealer recalled.
This pattern continues today. Dealers are invited to ‘consultative’ meetings where they’re told what’s happening rather than genuinely asked for input. “There’s no consultation; it’s all just ‘this is the way it’s going to be’,” one frustrated dealer explained.
Museum operators and collectors highlighted particularly concerning examples where police handling firearms during inspections showed a lack of basic knowledge. “They wouldn’t know a flint lock from a bolt action,” one noted, while another had to stop police from damaging valuable historical pieces during an inspection.
Drowning in paperwork and red tape
Perhaps the most universal complaint from dealers is the administrative burden of compliance. The paperwork requirements are described as overwhelming, error-prone and financially crippling for small businesses.
“We’re choked in paperwork. Can you imagine what it’s doing to us financially?” one dealer asked. Another explained: “We have nine different forms I have to fill in every month…those forms we do in hard copy, then our firearm returns we do electronically.”
The real problem isn’t just the volume; it’s that the system is set up to fail. Handwritten forms with complex serial numbers and technical details are naturally prone to human error. When dealers find mistakes and try to correct them, the process is slow and frustrating. Meanwhile, they worry that any errors on their books could lead to prosecution during the next police inspection.
Some dealers have had to lay off staff or cut hours not because of reduced business, but because compliance takes so much time and resources. Others provide gun licence application services to customers because, as one said, “If I didn’t do that, we’d probably go broke – a lot of people would just go ‘this is too hard’.”
Constant changes and poor communication
Dealers often report ‘compliance fatigue’ from constantly changing regulations that are poorly communicated. New requirements can cost tens of thousands of dollars with little notice or explanation.
“In the last 12 months, there has been this sudden interpretation…That’s cost us over $35,000 so far, which we will never recoup,” one dealer explained. Another had to spend $40,000 on a building upgrade that could have been planned for if authorities had communicated upcoming changes.
Inconsistencies between states
While the National Firearms Agreement provides guidelines, each state implements them differently. This creates complications for dealers who work across state boundaries or have customers who travel for competitions and hunting.
Western Australia’s system, where customers buy first then wait for approval, creates particular problems. Dealers can end up holding hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of stock for customers who may never get approved, creating cash flow and storage problems.
Why this matters for everyone
These implementation problems aren’t just frustrations for dealers; they’re weaknesses in the gun control system that affect everyone. When the compliance system is overly complex and adversarial, it:
- Creates unnecessary risks: Error-prone paperwork systems make it harder to track firearms properly.
- Wastes resources: Police and dealers spend time fighting over administrative issues instead of focusing on real safety concerns.
- Undermines cooperation: Treating dealers as criminals rather than partners created inefficiencies.
- Drives people away: Complex systems deter legitimate gun owners while doing little to stop criminals.
What dealers want
Gun dealers aren’t asking for fewer regulations, they’re asking for better regulations. They want:
- Genuine consultation on changes that affect their businesses and the shooting community.
- Cooperative relationships with police based on shared goals rather than suspicion.
- Streamlined processes that achieve safety goals without unnecessary bureaucracy.
- Clear communication about changes and the reasons behind them.
- Recognition of their expertise and role as community leaders.
Moving forward
The research shows that gun dealers support the goals of gun control and want to be part of the solution. They understand the need for background checks, safety training, and proper storage. They turn away customers they think are unsafe and go beyond legal requirements to educate gun owners.
But the current system often treats them as problems to be managed rather than partners in achieving public safety. This creates unnecessary tension and misses opportunities to improve gun control effectiveness.
The solution is to implement them more intelligently. This means:
- Building cooperative relationships between police and dealers.
- Simplifying administrative processes while maintaining safety standards.
- Including dealer expertise in policy development.
- Communicating changes clearly and with adequate notice.
- Focusing enforcement on genuine safety issues rather than paperwork errors.
Gun dealers want the same thing most Australians want: effective laws that keep the community safe while allowing legitimate activities to continue. The challenge is creating systems that achieve these goals through partnership rather than antagonism.
When gun dealers are treated as valued partners rather than suspected criminals, everyone benefits. The shooting community gets better service and advocacy, police get more cooperation and the public gets more effective gun control. It’s time to focus on making the system work better for everyone.
Suzanna Fay is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of Queensland. Her research has focused particularly on understanding gun dealer perspectives and the regulatory experiences of licensed firearms users, contributing valuable insights to evidence-based firearms policy discussions.
