Firearm trafficking and stolen firearms in NSW.

What happens to firearms once they are stolen.

A theft of registered firearms from a licensed owner is where many illegal guns begin. A stolen firearm does not stay in one place. It is passed on, sold, stored, and used, and each of those steps is its own offence. The law in New South Wales treats the firearm as dangerous for as long as it is off the register and in the wrong hands, and it attaches heavy penalties at every point in that chain.

That is why a stolen-firearm matter rarely turns on the theft alone. A matter before a court may involve the theft, the receiving of the stolen guns, the possession of them, the storage of a quantity of them, and their supply or sale. The charges sit across two Acts. The Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) deals with the stealing and the receiving. The Firearms Act 1996 (NSW) deals with the possession, supply and dealing. Reading the two together is how you make sense of a brief in this area.

Is stealing a firearm a separate offence in NSW?

No. There is no offence in New South Wales called stealing a firearm. The theft is charged as larceny under section 117 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), or as break, enter and steal where the guns are taken from a home or a building. Those charges carry the ordinary penalties for property offences. On their own they do not capture how serious a firearm theft is.

The seriousness is picked up by what comes next. The moment a person keeps, receives, holds or sells a stolen firearm, the Firearms Act offences are in play, and those offences carry far higher maximum penalties than the theft. A thief who takes a quantity of registered firearms is often exposed, on the same facts, to a trafficking or aggravated-possession charge carrying a maximum of 20 years. The theft is the start of the story. The firearms offences are where the weight of the law sits.

What is the offence of possessing a stolen or unregistered firearm?

A stolen firearm is nearly always an unregistered firearm in the hands of a person who is not licensed to have it. Three offences do the work here. Possession of an unregistered firearm is an offence under section 36 of the Firearms Act, with a maximum of 5 years, rising to 14 years where the firearm is a pistol or a prohibited firearm. Unauthorised possession or use of a pistol or prohibited firearm is an offence under section 7, with a maximum of 14 years. Unauthorised possession or use of a firearm generally is an offence under section 7A, with a maximum of 5 years.

Separate from the Firearms Act, receiving a stolen firearm knowing it to be stolen is an offence under section 188 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). So a person found with stolen guns can face both the receiving charge and the firearms possession charge on the same facts. The two prove different things. Receiving is about knowledge that the property was stolen. The firearms charge is about possession of a firearm the person was not authorised to have.

Possession has a settled meaning. It requires knowledge of the firearm and a measure of control over it. A person does not possess a firearm they did not know about and could not control. That is often the real contest in a possession case, and it is decided on the evidence about where the firearm was found and who had access to it.

What is firearm trafficking under the Firearms Act?

Supply is the heart of the dealing offences. Under section 51 of the Firearms Act, supplying a pistol or a prohibited firearm to a person who is not authorised to have it carries a maximum of 20 years. Supply is defined widely. It covers selling the firearm, giving it to another person, and taking part in the supply, including financing or arranging it. A person who never touches the gun can still supply it.

The trafficking offence proper is section 51B, headed ongoing supply. It applies to a person who supplies firearms on an ongoing basis, meaning on three or more separate occasions during any period of 12 months, for money or other material benefit. The maximum is 20 years, and there is a standard non-parole period of 10 years. The section is aimed at the person who makes a business of moving firearms, rather than a single sale. It sits alongside the ongoing supply offences for drugs, and the courts treat it as serious for the same reason. A steady supply of firearms feeds other crime.

What is aggravated possession of more than three firearms?

Section 51D is the warehousing offence, and it is the one that most often attaches to a large theft. It makes it an offence to possess more than three firearms none of which the person is authorised to possess. The basic offence under section 51D(1) carries a maximum of 10 years. The aggravated offence under section 51D(2) applies where at least one of the firearms is a pistol or a prohibited firearm, and it carries a maximum of 20 years with a standard non-parole period of 10 years.

The point of section 51D is the number. A person who holds a cache of unregistered firearms is treated as more dangerous than a person with a single gun, whether or not any sale can be proved. The prosecution does not have to show the person intended to sell them. Holding the quantity is enough. That is why a theft of many firearms, and the storage of them afterwards, so often produces a section 51D charge. The offence also overlaps with the possession of unregistered firearms on drug premises, which carries its own treatment.

What are the penalties and standard non-parole periods?

The maximum penalties climb steeply as the offending moves from holding a single firearm to dealing in a quantity. The main offences in this area sit as follows.

• Section 7A, unauthorised possession of a firearm generally: maximum 5 years.
• Section 7, unauthorised possession of a pistol or prohibited firearm: maximum 14 years.
• Section 36, possession of an unregistered firearm: maximum 5 years, or 14 years for a pistol or prohibited firearm.
• Section 51, supply of a pistol or prohibited firearm: maximum 20 years, standard non-parole period 10 years.
• Section 51B, supply on an ongoing basis: maximum 20 years, standard non-parole period 10 years.
• Section 51D(1), possession of more than three firearms: maximum 10 years.
• Section 51D(2), aggravated possession of more than three firearms: maximum 20 years, standard non-parole period 10 years.

A standard non-parole period is a reference point for an offence that falls in the middle of the range of objective seriousness. It is not a mandatory minimum. The court still sets the sentence by weighing all of the facts. The standard period is a guidepost the court must have regard to and explain, as the High Court made clear in Muldrock v The Queen (2011) 244 CLR 120. A set of 10-year standard non-parole periods marks these out as among the more serious offences on the firearms table.

How do the courts sentence firearm trafficking and warehousing?

The decided authority is settled and does not touch any matter now before a court. The leading decisions draw a line between a person who holds firearms over time and a person who holds them to sell. In Dionys v R [2011] NSWCCA 272 the Court of Criminal Appeal dealt with both ongoing supply under section 51B and warehousing under section 51D(2), and explained how the two offences differ in their focus. Supply looks at the movement of the firearms. Section 51D looks at the holding of them.

For the warehousing offence, the cases identify the features that raise objective seriousness. In Taylor v R [2018] NSWCCA 50 the Court weighed the risk created by holding firearms at a remote property, away from oversight. In R v Mahmud [2010] NSWCCA 219 the Court addressed the seriousness of possession under section 51D and the deterrence the offence is meant to carry. The number of firearms, whether they are pistols or prohibited firearms, whether they are in working order, whether ammunition is held with them, and whether there is any link to further crime, all push a case up or down the range.

The consistent theme is general deterrence. The courts sentence these offences with an eye to the danger that illegal firearms pose to the public, and they give weight to that danger even where the particular offender is not shown to have used the firearms. That is the backdrop against which a plea in mitigation has to be put.

What defences and real issues arise in these matters?

Possession is the common battleground. The prosecution must prove that the thing was a firearm within the meaning of the Act, that the accused possessed it, and that the accused was not authorised to possess it. Possession means knowledge and control. Where firearms are found in a shared house, a car, or a property used by several people, the question of who possessed them is a live one, and it is answered on the evidence rather than on who happened to be present.

On a receiving charge, the prosecution must prove the accused knew the firearm was stolen. On a supply charge, it must prove an act of supply, and for ongoing supply it must prove the three occasions in the 12 months and the material benefit. Each of those is a separate thing to be proved, and each can be tested. The lawful handling of the firearms by police, the continuity of the exhibits, and the strength of any identification also matter in the same way they do in any serious matter.

A person who is not charged but who is subject to a firearms prohibition order faces a different regime, and a person caught up in a theft may also be dealing with that order. The orders carry their own search powers and their own offences, and they often sit beside a possession charge.

What we do for clients charged with firearms offences.

A firearms matter starts with the charge certificate and the statement of facts. We read which offences have been laid, and we check that the right offence has been charged on the facts. A section 51D charge needs more than three firearms the person was not authorised to possess. A section 51B charge needs the three occasions and the benefit. A supply charge needs an act of supply. Where the elements are not made out, the charge is the first thing to meet.

Where the evidence supports the charge, the work moves to the plea and the sentence. The objective seriousness of a firearms offence is driven by the number and type of firearms, their condition, and any link to other offending, so that is where the plea is built. The standard non-parole period has to be addressed head on, and the features that take a case below the middle of the range have to be set out with care. King v R and the other recent decisions on the re-exercise of the sentencing discretion show how closely the Court of Criminal Appeal reads a sentence in this area.

Frequently asked.

Is stealing a firearm a separate offence in NSW?

There is no offence called stealing a firearm. The theft is charged as larceny under section 117 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), or as break, enter and steal where a building is involved. What makes firearms different is what follows. Anyone who holds, keeps, supplies or sells the stolen guns is exposed to the Firearms Act offences, which carry much heavier maximum penalties than the theft.

What is the penalty for possessing a stolen firearm in NSW?

A stolen firearm is almost always an unregistered firearm the holder is not licensed to possess. Possession of an unregistered firearm under section 36 carries a maximum of 5 years, or 14 years for a pistol or prohibited firearm. Unauthorised possession is an offence under section 7 for a pistol or prohibited firearm, maximum 14 years, and under section 7A for a firearm generally, maximum 5 years. Receiving the firearm knowing it to be stolen is a separate offence under section 188 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).

What is firearm trafficking under the Firearms Act?

Supplying a pistol or prohibited firearm without authority is an offence under section 51, maximum 20 years. Supplying firearms on an ongoing basis, meaning three or more occasions in any 12 months for a material benefit, is an offence under section 51B, maximum 20 years with a standard non-parole period of 10 years. Supply is defined broadly and includes selling and giving the firearm to another person.

What is aggravated possession of more than three firearms?

Section 51D makes it an offence to possess more than three firearms none of which the person is authorised to possess. The basic offence under section 51D(1) carries a maximum of 10 years. Where at least one firearm is a pistol or a prohibited firearm, the aggravated offence under section 51D(2) carries a maximum of 20 years and a standard non-parole period of 10 years. The section is aimed at people who hold or warehouse a quantity of firearms.

Is there a standard non-parole period for firearm trafficking?

Yes. The standard non-parole period for supply of a pistol or prohibited firearm under section 51, for ongoing supply under section 51B, and for aggravated possession of more than three firearms under section 51D(2), is 10 years. A standard non-parole period is a reference point for a case in the middle of the range of objective seriousness. It is a guidepost, not a mandatory minimum.

What defences are there to a firearm possession charge?

Possession turns on knowledge and control. A person does not possess a firearm they did not know about and had no ability to control. The prosecution must prove the thing was a firearm within the Act, that the accused possessed it, and that the accused was not authorised to do so. Where the charge is receiving, the prosecution must prove the accused knew the firearm was stolen. Each element can be tested on the evidence.

To speak to a criminal defence lawyer, call Aaron Kernaghan on 0421 717 019.

This article is written by Aaron Kernaghan, criminal defence lawyer at Brady & Associates Lawyers, as at 3 October 2026. It is commentary and reflects the personal opinion of the author only. It is not legal advice, it is not a substitute for advice on your own matter, and it does not purport to be accurate or complete. Any matter referred to may be before the court and any person charged is presumed innocent. For advice on a specific matter, contact Aaron Kernaghan on 0421 717 019 or contact the firm.

More criminal-law commentary by Aaron Kernaghan.

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