Domestic violence offenders may be prevented from holding a WA firearms licence, as the Cook government rolls out a suite of measures to tackle family violence.

September 12, 2023

Domestic violence offenders could be stripped of their right to hold a West Australian firearms licence, as the Cook government rewrites the state’s gun laws.

A task force and a “lived experience advisory group” will also be set up to tackle the growing scourge of family violence.

Premier Roger Cook said the task force would advise the government, and the lived experience group would ensure victims’ voices are “front and centre in policy-making”.

“We know there is always more to do to support victim-survivors and hold perpetrators to account,” he said on Tuesday.

The task force, which will be time-limited to six months, was a key request from the recent family and domestic violence forum.

It will consider and advise the government on other priorities put forward at the talks, and also examine the broader system, with a view to improving victim-survivor safety and perpetrator accountability.

It will be co-chaired by Noongar woman Professor Colleen Hayward – the former ambassador for the Commissioner for Children and Young People – and Department of Premier and Cabinet director general Emily Roper.

Mr Cook also announced that family and domestic violence perpetrators, and other violent offenders, will be prevented from holding or retaining a firearm licence in a bid to improve safety for domestic violence victims.

The nature of the crime the offender is guilty of will determine the period of disqualification.

“So for those convicted of more serious offences, they will be banned for a longer period of time from holding a gun license,” Mr Cook said.

Disqualification periods will start when an offender is released from custody.

The proposed laws will also be rolled out retrospectively with offenders already under family and domestic violence orders set to also be banned.

The changes will also prevent people, who are the subject of a violence restraining order or a family violence restraining order, from holding or retaining a gun license.

“We want to make sure that we take out of the hands of the perpetrators of family domestic violence, the means by which that violence can escalate and making sure that we do the right thing by the victims of domestic violence,” Mr Cook said.

The amendments are part of a broader “significant” rewrite of WA’s Firearms Act that Mr Cook said would be unveiled later in the year.

The changes are in addition to changes made in 2020, which prevented declared serial family violence offenders from owning firearms.

“There’s no overnight fix in relation to family and domestic violence,” Mr Cook said.

“This is an issue that we as a community will continue to have to address for a period to come.”

There are about 60,000 domestic violence-related police call-outs and 70,000 requests for welfare checks in Western Australia each year.

Police have previously said the number of reported family and domestic violence incidents was growing.

The state was shocked in recent months by a series of domestic violence incidents.

These included the deaths of Georgia Lyall, who was allegedly killed by her former partner in a suspected murder-suicide, and Meretta Kickett, whose severely injured body was found in her Perth home, triggering grief and outrage across the community.