{"id":548996,"date":"2026-03-18T19:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/548996\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T19:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:38:13","slug":"police-overruled-in-attempt-to-remove-gun-from-bikies-relative-under-wa-new-firearms-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/548996\/","title":{"rendered":"Police overruled in attempt to remove gun from bikie’s relative under WA new firearms laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police have been overruled in their attempt to take firearms off the estranged relative of a Western Australian bikie in a potential blow to the force’s interpretation of new gun laws.<\/p>\n

Legislation which took effect last year \u2014 pitched as the toughest in the nation \u2014 gave WA Police broad powers in deciding who can hold a firearms licence.<\/p>\n

A police officer used these powers to cancel the gun licence of a person because they were concerned that a relative, who was an outlaw motorcycle gang member, could get access to their guns.<\/p>\n

This week, two members of the State Administrative Tribunal found there was “no proper basis” for the decision, and overturned it.<\/p>\n

\"WA<\/p>\n

Police Commissioner Col Blanch has the power to determine whether a licence holder is a “fit and proper person”. (ABC News: Mya Kordic)<\/p>\n

The decision rested on whether Police Commissioner Col Blanch believed the gun licence holder was a “fit and proper person”.<\/p>\n

There is no single definition of what that means, but the commissioner has wide-ranging powers to consider everything from a person’s “views, opinions and attitudes” to their “close associates”, including relatives and business partners.<\/p>\n

It was on this basis that a delegate of the commissioner last year cancelled the gun licence of the person, known only by the pseudonym APP.<\/p>\n

Guns stored at mother’s home<\/p>\n

The bikie relative \u2014 referred to as GHI \u2014 had a criminal record spanning nearly 20 years, according to the tribunal, with a “propensity towards threatening behaviour”.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Some of the guns returned during the latest buyback.\u00a0 (ABC News: Keane Bourke)<\/p>\n

Police argued that both APP and GHI had “frequented” their mother’s home, where the firearms were stored, which created a risk of them being able to access the guns.<\/p>\n

“It’s not about the pure family connection, it’s about access to the guns and frequency at the premises,” Commissioner Blanch told ABC Radio Perth.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A delegate of the commissioner cancelled the person’s firearm licence.\u00a0 (ABC News: Kenith Png)<\/p>\n

APP had argued that they had no contact with GHI since 2024, there was “no prospect” of a relationship resuming and that GHI did not know about the firearms, which were concealed in a hidden safe at another family member’s home.<\/p>\n

Police argued though it was possible the relationship could be “rekindled”, or that GHI or an associate “could threaten, intimidate and\/or influence” APP or the family member to get access to the guns.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The State Administrative Tribunal set aside the cancellation of APP’s firearm licence.\u00a0 (ABC News: Andrew Williams)<\/p>\n

But the tribunal rejected that assessment, referring to contradictory evidence from a police detective with “extensive experience” of outlaw gangs.<\/p>\n

They gave evidence that members of organised crime wanted to be “well-removed” from firearms theft.<\/p>\n

“The reason being self-evident \u2014 the more removed the club member is from the crime, the lower the chance of being detected,” the tribunal said in its decision.<\/p>\n

“Consequently, club members are far more likely to purchase a firearm illegally or arrange for one to be stolen from someone unknown to them, as opposed to stealing or otherwise taking one from a family member.”No significant risk<\/p>\n

The decision clarifies the limits of what consideration police can place on a person’s “close associates” when granting a licence.<\/p>\n

How the WA man charged with plotting a terrorist act legally owned guns<\/a><\/p>\n

Western Australia is transitioning to tougher firearms laws \u2014 but despite the changes, 20-year-old Jayson Joseph Michaels and his father were allowed to keep their collection of seven guns.<\/p>\n

The tribunal ruled there were many types of relatives and associates and that “each case will require its own assessment”.<\/p>\n

The ultimate question, according to the tribunal, is whether there is a “significant risk” of a person’s close associate who is not a fit and proper person gaining access to the firearm.<\/p>\n

“We find that \u2026 there is no real risk or prospect of GHI gaining access to [APP’s] firearms,” the tribunal concluded, citing the “distant” connection between the pair.<\/p>\n

“Certainly it cannot be said that there is a significant risk.”<\/p>\n

In a statement, a WA Police spokesperson said the force was considering whether to appeal the tribunal’s decision.<\/p>\n

\"Premier<\/p>\n

Premier Roger Cook, WA Police Assistant Commissioner and Police Minister Reece Whitby pose for a show and tell of seized weapons. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)<\/p>\n

A state government spokesperson said WA’s firearms laws were about “ensuring the safety of all Western Australians”.<\/p>\n

“We support the police commissioner’s role in deeming whether an individual is a fit and proper person to hold a firearms licence,” they said.<\/p>\n

Guidelines unknown<\/p>\n

The WA Firearms Traders Association welcomed the tribunal’s decision but said it would not be the last time the new laws were tested.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately we’re going to see this sort of stuff come up more and more as the platform and their powers are tested because \u2026 no-one knows the guidelines,” association president Bevan Steele said.<\/p>\n

“They’re so loose and it’s now down to the court system and the State Administration Tribunal to try and interpret that workload.”<\/p>\n

Mr Steele said more clarity was needed around how a “fit and proper person” was defined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police have been overruled in their attempt to take firearms off the estranged relative of a Western Australian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,133124,120867,44,271592,271591,86,271594,271593,58555,45,7977,9570,9569],"class_list":["post-548996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bikies","tag-col-blanch","tag-news","tag-omcg","tag-outlaw-motorcycle-gangs","tag-perth-news","tag-test-of-wa-gun-laws","tag-wa-bikie-gangs","tag-wa-gun-laws","tag-wa-news","tag-wa-police","tag-wa-politics","tag-wa-pols"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}