This Act may be cited as the Arms Act 1958.

This Act shall come into force on the first day of February, nineteen hundred and fifty-nine.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

It shall not be lawful for any person to sell, or offer for sale, or lave in his possession for sale, in the way of his business, any firearms or ammunition, or manufacture for sale any firearms, unless he is the holder of a dealer’s licence issued to him by a commissioned officer of Police under this Act.

A dealer’s licence may be issued in respect of both firearms and ammunition, or in respect of ammunition only, and each licence shall be issued in respect of one place of business only.

A dealer’s licence may be at any time revoked by the Commissioner of Police.

Every person who commits a breach of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Every licensed dealer shall keep at the place of business referred to in his licence a book in which he shall record such particulars as may be prescribed by regulations under this Act relating to the receipt, sale, manufacture, or delivery by him of such ammunition as may be specified in that behalf in the regulations and of any firearms.

Every licensed dealer shall at all times permit any member of the Police to inspect and make copies of any entries in the book so kept by him as aforesaid, and shall at all times on demand afford to any member of the Police all further information in his possession with respect to any dealings by him relating to firearms or ammunition.

Every licensed dealer who commits a breach of this section commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

Any member of the Police may, on being authorised to do so by warrant under the hand of the Commissioner of Police, seize and take possession of all or any firearms or ammunition in the possession of or under the control of a licensed dealer; and for that purpose may enter into or upon any land or building in or upon which any such firearms or ammunition may be, and in so doing may use such force, if any, as may be necessary.

All firearms or ammunition seized under this section may be detained by the Commissioner of Police for such period as he thinks fit, or may, in the discretion of the Governor-General in Council, become the property of Her Majesty free and discharged from all right, title, estate, or interest possessed in respect thereof by any other person.

In any case where any such firearms or ammunition have become the property of Her Majesty as aforesaid the Minister of Finance shall pay compensation therefor out of the Consolidated Fund.

No person shall bring or cause to be brought or sent into New Zealand any firearm otherwise than pursuant to a permit issued to him for that purpose by a commissioned officer of Police.

Any commissioned officer of Police to whom application for a permit is made under this section may require the applicant to produce for examination and testing such samples of any firearms or of firearms of any kind referred to in the application as he may deem necessary, and may in his discretion refuse to grant a permit under this section with respect to any firearm, or with respect to firearms of any specified kind.

Any permit issued under this section may be at any time revoked by the commissioned officer of Police who issued the permit, or by any other commissioned officer of Police.

If any member of the Police or officer of Customs has reasonable grounds to suspect that any firearms have been brought into New Zealand in breach of this section, or have been brought into the harbours or other territorial waters of New Zealand and are intended to be brought into New Zealand in breach of this section, that member or officer may seize those firearms and detain the same. In any such case, such force may be used as is reasonably necessary for effecting the seizure of the firearms.

The term “New Zealand” as used in this section does not include the harbours and other territorial waters of New Zealand.

Every person who commits, or attempts to commit, or conspires to commit, a breach of this section commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both, and the burden of proving the existence and terms of such a permit as aforesaid shall lie on the defendant.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, no person other than a licensed dealer authorised to deal in firearms and ammunition or in ammunition only, as the case may require, shall, whether by way of purchase or in any other manner, procure possession of any firearm or ammunition otherwise than pursuant to a permit under this section or pursuant to a permit under section six of this Act.

No person shall, whether by way of sale or in any other manner, deliver possession of any firearm or ammunition to any person other than a licensed dealer authorised to deal in firearms and ammunition or in ammunition only, as the case may require, or a person entitled to obtain the firearm or ammunition by virtue of any permit referred to in subsection one of this section.

Subject to the provisions of any regulations under this Act, a permit under this section may be issued by any member of the Police.

Every person who commits, or attempts to commit conspires to commit, a breach of this section commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both, and the burden of proving the existence and terms of any such permit as aforesaid shall lie on the defendant.

Every permit issued under this section shall remain in force for such period, not exceeding one month, as may be specified in the permit:

Provided that any such permit may at any time during its currency be revoked by a commissioned officer of Police.

Nothing in this section shall apply to the possession of—

It shall not be lawful to sell or supply firearms to which this section applies or any kind of ammunition for any such firearm to any person apparently under the age of sixteen years.

It shall not be lawful for any person under the age of sixteen years to use or carry or have in his possession any firearm to which this section applies or any kind of ammunition for any such firearm.

It shall not be lawful to sell or supply any firearms to which this section applies to any person who has attained the age of sixteen years and is apparently under the age of twenty-one years otherwise than pursuant to a permit issued under section seven of this Act.

It shall not be lawful for any person who has attained the age of sixteen years but has not attained the age of twenty-one years to procure possession, whether by way of purchase or in any other manner, of any firearm to which this section applies otherwise than pursuant to a permit issued under section six or section seven of this Act.

Every person who commits or attempts to commit a breach of this section commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

Nothing in this section shall apply to any person under the age of sixteen years using a firearm under the immediate supervision of the owner of the firearm or under proper supervision on a properly constructed firing range.

For the purposes of this section the term “firearm” means any gun, rifle, or pistol, whether acting by the force of explosives or not; but does not include any firearm referred to in paragraph (c) or paragraph (d) of subsection six of section seven of this Act.

It shall not be lawful for any person other than a licensed dealer authorised to deal in firearms to be in possession for a period longer than one month of any firearm unless he is registered as the owner thereof under this section.

Registration under this section shall be effected by obtaining a certificate of registration from a member of the Police.

A member of the Police may, before issuing a certificate of registration, require the applicant to produce the firearm for his inspection, and may refuse to issue a certificate if he considers that the firearm is in an unsafe condition.

Subject to the provisions of subsection one of this section, no person shall be exempt from the necessity of becoming registered as the owner of a firearm under this section on the ground that he obtained that firearm in pursuance of a permit or licence issued under this Act.

A certificate of registration may, in the discretion of the member of the Police issuing the certificate, include the name of any employee of the owner or of any member of the family of the owner who has attained the age of sixteen years, and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, any person whose name is for the time being included in a certificate as aforesaid may be given lawful possession of the firearm.

Any such name may at any time be included in any certificate of registration by a member of the Police and any name included in any such certificate may be removed from the certificate by a member of the Police at the request of the owner of the firearm.

Any person whose name is included in a certificate of registration under subsection five or subsection six of this section shall, for the purposes of section ten of this Act, be deemed to be registered as an owner of the firearm.

Every person who commits a breach of this section commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds; and on any prosecution for such an offence, if the defendant is proved to have been in possession of the firearm, the burden of proving that he was registered as aforesaid or that he had not been in possession thereof for more than one month or that he was lawfully in possession thereof pursuant to this section shall lie on the defendant.

Nothing in this section shall apply to the possession of—

No person shall be registered as the owner of any firearm who, in the opinion of a commissioned officer of Police, is not a fit and proper person to be in possession of the firearm.

If any person who is registered as the owner of any firearm is, in the opinion of a commissioned officer of Police, not a fit and proper person to be in possession of the firearm, or if, in the opinion of any such officer, the firearm is unsafe, that commissioned officer may, by notice in writing under his hand, revoke the certificate of registration, and the person so registered shall upon demand surrender the certificate to a member of the Police.

On the revocation of a certificate of registration pursuant to this section the person to whom the certificate was issued shall cease to be the registered owner of the firearm to which it relates, whether or not the certificate has been surrendered.

On the revocation of any certificate of registration under section ten of this Act, or on the refusal of any member of the Police to issue a certificate of registration pursuant to an application under section nine of this Act, the owner or other person for the time being in possession of the firearm to which the certificate or application relates shall, on demand, deliver the firearm to a member of the Police.

The owner of any firearm in respect of which a certificate of ownership has been revoked as aforesaid, or in respect of which an application for a certificate of registration has been refused, may at any time within three months thereafter, or such longer period as the Commissioner of Police may allow, sell or otherwise dispose of the firearm to a person approved for the purpose by a commissioned officer of Police:

Provided that if, in the opinion of that officer, the firearm is unsafe, he may prohibit any such sale or disposition.

Subject to the provisions of subsection two of this section, all firearms delivered to a member of the Police pursuant to this section may be detained for such period as the Commissioner of Police thinks fit, or may, in the discretion of the Minister in Charge of Police become the property of Her Majesty, free and discharged from all right, title, or interest possessed in respect thereof by any other person.

The Minister of Finance shall pay out of the Consolidated Fund compensation for the value of all firearms, other than unsafe firearms, delivered to a member of the Police under this section and which have become the property of Her Majesty as hereinbefore provided.

Every person who commits a breach of this section commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both.

Except as provided in subsection two of this section, every person who is at any time in possession of an unlawful weapon, or of any part or parts of an unlawful weapon, or of any part or parts specially intended or adapted for use as part of an unlawful weapon, or any ammunition for an unlawful weapon, shall forthwith, if the weapon is already an unlawful weapon, or before the expiry of one month after the notification in the Gazette of the Order in Council declaring the weapon to be an unlawful weapon in any other case, cause the weapon or the parts or the ammunition to be destroyed or exported from New Zealand, or delivered to a member of the Police.

The Minister in Charge of Police may, by licence in writing, authorise any person in any special case and for any special reason to have in his possession any unlawful weapon or any part or parts of an unlawful weapon or any ammunition for an unlawful weapon, subject to such conditions as to use or custody as the Minister may impose. Any such licence may at any time be revoked without notice by the Minister.

The Minister of Finance shall pay compensation out of the Consolidated Fund for the value of all weapons in a serviceable condition, and for all parts or ammunition delivered to a member of the Police in accordance with this section:

Provided that no such compensation shall be paid unless the Minister is satisfied that the person claiming compensation has acquired the weapons or parts or ammunition lawfully and, if he has brought them into New Zealand, that he has done so lawfully.

Every person who is in possession of any weapon or parts or ammunition contrary to the provisions of this section or who fails to comply with any condition imposed under subsection two of this section commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both.

It shall be unlawful for any person to carry a pistol in any place beyond the limits of his dwellinghouse, or the curtilage thereof, save under and in accordance with the conditions of a licence in that behalf under this section.

A licence under this section may be granted by a commissioned officer of Police and may be granted subject to such conditions as he thinks fit.

Any such licence may be at any time revoked by any commissioned officer of Police.

Every person who carries a pistol contrary to the provisions of this section or contrary to the provisions of any conditions imposed under this section commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both.

In any prosecution under this section the burden of proving that the pistol carried by the defendant was carried by him under and in accordance with the conditions of a licence so granted to him shall lie upon the defendant.

Any person whose application for a licence or a permit under section three or section six or section seven of this Act has been refused, or whose licence or permit under any of those sections has been revoked, or whose application for a certificate of registration under this Act as the owner of any firearm has been refused, or whose certificate of registration as the owner of any firearm has been revoked, may, by way of originating application, appeal to a Magistrate from the refusal to grant any such licence, permit, or certificate, or from the revocation of any such licence, permit, or certificate, as the case may be. On the hearing of any such appeal the Magistrate may either confirm or reverse the decision appealed against.

Notwithstanding that any such appeal may have been determined in favour of the appellant, any commissioned officer of Police, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by this Act, may, subject to the like right of appeal, revoke any licence, permit, or certificate to which the appeal related, or any licence, permit, or certificate granted in compliance with the decision of the Magistrate on such appeal, on any sufficient grounds supported by facts or evidence discovered since the hearing of the appeal.

Subject to the provisions of subsection two of this section, the decision of the Magistrate on any appeal under this section shall be final and conclusive.

No person shall be excused from complying with any of the provisions of this Act on the ground that an appeal is pending under this section.

The amount of compensation payable under any of the provisions of this Act in respect of any arms, ammunition, or other property shall not in any case exceed the actual market value thereof, and in case of dispute shall be determined, upon application by way of originating application, by a Magistrate, whose decision shall be final.

No person shall carry or be in possession of any firearm, ammunition, explosive, or dangerous weapon except for some lawful, proper, and sufficient purpose, and the burden of proving the existence of any such purpose shall lie upon the defendant.

No person who, while under the influence of drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the firearm, shall be in charge of any firearm.

Every person who commits a breach of this section commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both.

Section forty-three of the Police Offences Act 1927 is hereby amended by omitting the words “or while in possession of any firearms and ammunition”.

Every person who procures, or attempts to procure, or conspires to procure, the possession of any firearm, ammunition, or explosive by way of trespass or otherwise without lawful right or title thereto commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both.

Every person who, except for some lawful and sufficient purpose, presents a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, at any other person commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both.

Every person who obstructs a member of the Police in the exercise of any right of search, seizure, or detention conferred by this Act commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both.

Any person reasonably suspected of having committed an offence against this Act which is punishable by imprisonment may be arrested by a member of the Police without warrant.

Section fourteen of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 shall have no application to prosecutions for offences against this Act.

When an offence against this Act punishable by imprisonment (whether or not it is also punishable by a fine) is committed by an incorporated company, the company shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds.

For the purposes of this Act every person in occupation of any land or building on which any firearms, ammunition, or explosives are found shall, though not to the exclusion of the liability of any other person, be deemed to be in possession of those firearms, ammunition, or explosives, unless he proves that they were not his property and that they were in the possession of some other person.

If a member of the Police has reasonable grounds to suspect that any person being in a public place is carrying or is in possession of any firearm, ammunition, or explosive in breach of this Act, the member may without warrant search that person, or any vehicle, package, or other thing there in his possession or under his control, and may detain that person for the purpose of any such search, and may seize any such firearm, ammunition, or explosive, and detain the same.

If any member of the Police has reasonable grounds to suspect that any person has in his possession or under his control in any place any firearm, ammunition, or explosive, and that the person is of unsound mind, or is under the influence of drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the firearm, ammunition, or explosive, or may kill or do bodily injury to himself or any other person, the member of the Police may, without warrant, search that person or place; and may detain that person for the purpose of any such search; and may seize any such firearm, ammunition, or explosive and detain the same.

If any commissioned officer of Police has reason to suspect that there is in any house, building, land, vehicle, vessel, or other premises any firearms, ammunition, or explosives in respect of which any offence against this Act or any indictable offence has been or is about to be committed or which may be evidence of any such offence, the commissioned officer, or any member or members of the Police authorised by him in writing, may enter any such house, building, land, vehicle, vessel, or premises, by force if need be, and either by day or by night, and search the same or any part thereof, and may seize any firearms, ammunition, or explosives found therein, and detain the same.

Nothing in this Act shall render unlawful the carriage or possession of firearms, ammunition, or explosives belonging to the Crown and lawfully in the possession of any member of the armed forces of the Crown, or of the Police, or of any other person authorised pursuant to regulations under this Act to carry or possess firearms, ammunition, or explosives.

The Governor-General may from time to time by Proclamation declare that any area specified in the Proclamation is an area in which the possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives is prohibited.

Any area so specified shall, while and so far as such Proclamation remains in force, be a prescribed area within the meaning and for the purposes of this Act.

Any such Proclamation may by subsequent Proclamation be revoked either as to the whole or any part of the prescribed area.

No person shall, except in pursuance of a permit issued to him for that purpose by a commissioned officer of Police, have in his possession in a prescribed area any firearm, ammunition, or explosive at any time later than three clear days after the date of the gazetting of the Proclamation by which that area was constituted.

Any permit issued under subsection four of this section may be at any time revoked by any commissioned officer of Police.

Every person who on the gazetting of any Proclamation constituting a prescribed area as aforesaid is in possession in that area of any firearms, ammunition, or explosives shall, before the expiration of the time limited by subsection four of this section, deliver all such firearms, ammunition, and explosives to a member of the Police, unless he obtains a permit to retain possession thereof as provided in that subsection; and if he fails so to deliver any such firearms, ammunition, or explosives he shall be guilty of an offence against this section.

All firearms, ammunition, and explosives delivered to a member of the Police pursuant to this section may be detained for such period as the Commissioner of Police thinks fit, or may, in the discretion of the Governor-General in Council, become the property of Her Majesty, free and discharged from all right, title, estate, or interest possessed in respect thereof by any other person.

The Minister of Finance shall pay out of the Consolidated Fund compensation for the value of all firearms, ammunition, or explosives delivered to a member of the Police under this section and which have become the property of Her Majesty as hereinbefore provided.

No person shall bring or send, or cause to be brought or sent, into a prescribed area any firearm, ammunition, or explosive save in pursuance of a permit issued to him for that purpose by a commissioned officer of Police.

Every person who commits, or attempts to commit, or conspires to commit, a breach of this section commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both, and the burden of proving the existence and terms of any permit under subsection four of this section shall lie on the defendant.

On application by way of originating application, a Magistrate may make such order as he thinks just and expedient for the restoration of any firearms, ammunition, or explosives seized and detained in pursuance of the right of search, seizure, or detention conferred by this Act.

When any person is convicted of using, carrying, or being in possession of any arms, ammunition, or explosives in breach of this Act, the convicting Court may, as part of the conviction, order that any such arms, ammunition, or explosives shall be forfeited, and they shall thereupon become forfeited to the Crown accordingly, and may be disposed of in such manner as the Commissioner of Police directs.

Without limiting the operation of any other provisions of this Act as to the disposal of firearms, ammunition, or explosives seized or detained under this Act, any such firearms, ammunition, or explosives that have been detained for not less than twelve months may be disposed of in such manner as the Commissioner of Police may direct.

Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of a Magistrate to make an order for the restoration of any such firearms, ammunition, or explosives on application made under section twenty-eight of this Act.

No action, claim, or demand whatsoever shall lie or be made or allowed by or in favour of any person against the Crown, or any Minister of the Crown, or any person acting in the execution or intended execution of this Act, save only in respect of any compensation that is payable in accordance with the express provisions of this Act.

The Governor-General may, from time to time, by Order in Council, make regulations—

Regulations under this section may prescribe fines, not exceeding twenty pounds in any case, for the breach of or failure to comply with any such regulations.

The enactments specified in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed.

Without limiting the provisions of the Acts Interpretation Act 1924, it is hereby declared that the repeal of any provision by this Act shall not affect any document made or any thing whatsoever done under the provision so repealed or under any corresponding former provision, and every such document or thing, so far as it is subsisting or in force at the time of the repeal and could have been made or done under this Act, shall continue and have effect as if it had been made or done under the corresponding provision of this Act and as if that provision had been in force when the document was made or the thing was done.