The Facts
Firearms licence holder uses cannabis to manage chronic back pain
A man living in regional NSW held a Category AB firearms licence, authorising the use of certain rifles and shotguns.
He primarily used his firearms for recreational shooting and for pest and vermin control on a rural property owned by his neighbours.
At the age of 16 he had suffered a serious spinal injury in a workplace accident. The injury caused him to suffer chronic back pain, which he relieved by using cannabis.
Police find cannabis during firearms safe storage inspection
On 28 March 2024, police attended the man’s residence to conduct a routine firearms safe storage inspection.
After completing the inspection, the police requested permission to search his property.
He agreed to this. The police found five cannabis plants growing in his back yard, as well as dried cannabis leaf inside his residence.
Drug charges lead to 12-month conditional release order
The licensee was charged with one count of possessing a prohibited drug under the NSW Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 and one count under that Act of cultivating a small quantity of a prohibited plant.
He was found guilty of both offences. No conviction was recorded.
However, the man was made subject to a 12-month conditional release order (CRO), commencing on 13 May 2024 and ending on 12 May 2025.
Firearms licence revoked and licensee seeks judicial review of decision
On 7 August 2024, after the man was found guilty of drug offences, the Commissioner of Police exercised its discretionary power under the NSW Firearms Act 1996 to revoke his firearms licence.
This decision was affirmed on 27 September 2024, following an internal police review.
On 30 December 2024, the man applied to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for administrative review of the revocation decision.
Expert commentary on the court's decision
Tribunal sets aside revocation decision
In Parish v Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police Force [2025] NSWCATAD 42, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal set aside the Commissioner of Police’s decision to revoke the firearms licence of Mr Brendan Parish.
Discretion to revoke a firearms licence
Under section 24(2)(a) of the Firearms Act, the Commissioner of Police has the discretion to revoke an existing firearms licence if the licensee would be required to be refused a new licence of the same kind.
If Mr Parish had applied for a new Category AB firearms licence, the application would have been required to be refused, because Mr Parish was a person subject to a CRO in relation to possession of a prohibited drug.
Under clause 20 of the NSW Firearms Regulations 2017, the Commissioner also has discretion to revoke a licence if “satisfied that it is not in the public interest for the licensee to continue to hold the licence”.
Exercise of discretion under section 24(2)(a)
In exercising its power of administrative review, the tribunal has the same discretion as the Commissioner to revoke a licence under section 24(2)(a), and there is no presumption that the Commissioner’s decision was correct.
The tribunal found circumstances sufficient to justify setting aside the Commissioner’s decision and allowing Mr Parish to retain his firearms licence until its expiry.
The tribunal noted that Mr Parish should have complied with the law in the first place; and that his contraventions were not trivial. However, they also found that Mr Parish’s:
The tribunal accepted Mr Parish’s evidence that the plants had been planted only six months before the police inspection and that they had grown in rich soil from a former chicken run, which could explain their unusual size.
The tribunal also noted that while “ignorance of the law is no excuse, realistically there must be many people who are unaware of the legal provisions for medical marijuana authorization”.
Exercise of discretion under clause 20
The tribunal stated that its reasons for exercising the discretion in section 24(2) in Mr Parish’s favour, notwithstanding the CRO for two cannabis offences, also applied in relation to the public interest discretion under clause 20.
The tribunal found that these reasons “indicate that restoring the applicant’s firearms licence would not involve any real or appreciable risk to public safety…”.
In Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police Force v Parish [2025] NSWCATAP 180, the Commissioner of Police appealed the tribunal’s decision. The appeal was unsuccessful.
Public safety is paramount
Though the Commissioner of Police was unsuccessful on this occasion, the case nevertheless highlights the fact that certain criminal behaviours, including those unrelated to firearms, may prevent a person from holding a firearms licence in NSW.
Ultimately, the possession and use of firearms is subject to the overriding need to ensure public safety.