###### IMPORTANT HANDGUN OWNERSHIP AND LICENCING INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE PRSCi MEMBERS

########## GENUINE REASON FOR HANDGUN OWNERSHIP

As a prospective member of the PRSCi, it is important for you to acknowledge that the only genuine reason for owning a handgun in Queensland (outside of specially licenced primary producer or other occupational requirements) is to participate in Accredited Handgun Shooting Events at Accredited Pistol Ranges, or put simply, organised Sports Target Shooting

########## Handgun possession is not permitted for the purpose of recreational shooting, emergency/disaster preparedness or home defence.

########## REQUIREMENTS FOR OBTAINING A CATEGORY H LICENCE IN QUEENSLAND

Obtaining your Concealable Firearms Licence (also called a Category H Licence, or Cat H Licence) can seem like a daunting task, especially if you have no previous firearms licencing experience. The full process can take up to 12 months but is usually completed in around 9 months. In order to be eligible to apply for a Cat H Licence you must complete all of the following pre-requisites;

- 1. Obtain a ‘Statement of Eligibility’ from Queensland Police Weapons Licencing Branch (WLB). This is essentially a police check to ensure that you are a ‘Fit and Proper’ person to hold a firearms licence. An application for the Statement of Eligibility can be made using form QP 0515 available from the WLB website; the completed form must be lodged in person at a QPS station (a Statement of Eligibility is not required if you already hold a current Queensland Firearms Licence of a different category, i.e. you have a Category A/B Licence). There is no cost for lodging an application for Statement of Eligibility.
- 2. Join an Approved Queensland Pistol Club. Once you have received your Statement of Eligibility (or have a current Cat A/B Licence), you may apply for membership with the PRSCi. It is a WLB mandatory requirement that you hold financial membership with an approved Queensland Pistol Club such as PRSCi for at least 6 months prior to being eligible to make an application for your Cat H Licence.
- 3. Demonstrate your competence in safe firearms handling practices. During the mandated minimum 6 month period of financial membership with PRSCi you are required to complete the following actions;
- a. Participate in as many club events as possible. This will serve to provide you with significant familiarization in safe firearms handling practices within a directly supervised environment. It is a WLB requirement that you participate in an absolute minimum of 3 accredited handgun shooting events in the 6 months directly preceding your application for a Cat H Licence. These events will be documented on a “Participation Record” and will need to be submitted to WLB with your licence application. (There are further ongoing participation requirements to maintain your Cat H licence once it has been approved; these are discussed later in the ‘Ongoing Participation Requirements’ section).
- b. Complete a Course in Firearms Safety (for Cat H firearms) with a registered training organization. You will be required to provide a copy of your statement of attainment to WLB when applying for your Cat H licence. Please note that PRSCi recommends this course is conducted towards the latter stages of your 6 month familiarization period. This allows you to have received sufficient exposure to safe firearms handling within the club environment, therefore arming you with a greater contextual understanding of the course contents and confidence to successfully complete the course. The course is 1 day in duration and costs around $120 - $160 depending on the provider.