Submissions are open until the 16th of February 2026
Contents:
- Links to Government Webpages; including the Arms Bill
- NZDA's Submission (coming soon)
- NZDA's Position Statement
- NZDA Submission Guide (word document)
- Other organisation's submissions (as they become available)
- The COLFO Submission Guide
Submissions are currently being accepted on the Arms Bill:
Context:
The bill would repeal and replace the Arms Act 1983 with the aim of providing for greater protection of public safety, simplifying regulatory requirements, and improving compliance. Read more here.
The Arms Bill was introduced, read and moved to Select Committee in December 2025.
Ready to make your submission? Click here.
2. Read NZDA's Submission
Coming soon
3. NZDA's Position Statement
While NZDA supports the Bill as a necessary step toward rationalising and stabilising firearms law, we consider that it does not yet fully deliver the legislative reset sought in NZDA’s February 2025 submission.
The Bill improves structure and governance, but it stops short of addressing the deeper issues that have undermined confidence in the firearms regulatory system since 2019. In particular, the Bill does not provide a clear statutory signal that the approach taken over the past five years has been flawed in its execution, overly discretionary in practice, and disconnected from the experience of lawful firearms users. Without explicit guidance in the Act itself on proportionality, consistency, and reasonableness in decision-making, there is a real risk that the same outcomes will continue under a different institutional banner.
Lawful Firearms Use
NZDA remains concerned that the Bill does not adequately recognise the legitimacy and normality of lawful firearms use in New Zealand. Firearms are lawfully possessed and used by fit and proper persons for hunting, pest and biosecurity control, sport and competition, collection, and heritage purposes. These uses are not exceptional, marginal, or undesirable; they are longstanding, socially embedded, and in many cases deliver clear public benefit. The absence of a clear and positive statement of legitimate use within the purpose and principles of the Act risks perpetuating an interpretive culture in which restriction is treated as the default objective rather than a means to manage demonstrable risk.
Regulatory Discretion
The Bill also continues to rely heavily on broad regulatory discretion, with limited statutory constraints on how powers are exercised in practice. NZDA’s experience since 2019 has been that wide discretion, when combined with unclear standards and limited accountability, leads to inconsistency, overreach, and erosion of trust. The Bill would be materially strengthened by clearer thresholds, evidential requirements, and obligations to give reasons, particularly where decisions affect licence status, conditions, access to firearms, or participation in clubs and ranges.
Licensing Review Panel
Although the introduction of a licensing review panel is welcomed, the Bill does not yet ensure that review and appeal processes provide practical, timely, and affordable access to justice for ordinary licence holders. Decisions that remove or restrict lawful firearms possession can have immediate and serious consequences, including loss of hunting access, club participation, employment, or livelihood. NZDA submits that panels must be genuinely independent, empowered to determine matters on the merits, and operate within clear timeframes. Critically, access to an independent court must remain available as a fundamental safeguard. Panels can improve accessibility and expertise, but they cannot be the final arbiter of rights affecting lawful property and participation in lawful activities.
Firearms Register
NZDA is also concerned that the Bill does not meaningfully address the ongoing issues associated with the Firearms Register. The Register has had a significant impact on licence holder confidence, participation, and privacy, yet the Bill largely defers consideration of these issues to future review or regulation. There is no acknowledgement in the Act of declining licence numbers, digital exclusion, compliance fatigue, or the cumulative cost of implementation. Silence on these matters does not resolve them and risks entrenching a system that continues to operate without broad legitimacy or demonstrated effectiveness.
Clubs and Ranges
Finally, NZDA notes that the Bill retains a strong focus on control of clubs and ranges without addressing the reality that access to safe, well-regulated shooting ranges is essential to public safety outcomes. Since 2019, range development and certification have effectively stalled, reducing opportunities for training, supervision, sight-in, competition, and ethical firearms use. A regulatory framework that constrains access to training infrastructure while demanding higher standards of safety is internally inconsistent and counterproductive.
Conclusion
For these reasons, NZDA supports the Bill as an improvement on the current legislative framework but submits that it does not yet go far enough to unwind the over-regulation, discretionary excess, and loss of trust that have characterised firearms law since 2019. Addressing these remaining gaps is essential if the Act is to be durable, credible, and capable of delivering genuine public safety outcomes while maintaining the confidence and participation of New Zealand’s lawful firearms community.
4. NZDA Submission Guide for Hunters
This guide includes 27 key points that you might like to personally speak to. Remember, words should be your own.
Download the word document here.
5. Other Organisation's Submissions
Coming soon.
Join NZDA To Help Us Advocate on Your Behalf
