Gun Safes and Storage: What Passes a NSW Inspection
For Category A and B you need a locked receptacle of steel or hardwood, not easily penetrable, with a solid metal lock, fixed to the structure if it weighs under 150 kg empty. Category C, D and H need a bolted steel safe. From 1 July 2026 a passed storage inspection is required before any Permit to Acquire.
Magnum Sports — NSW Firearms Dealer Licence No. 413159984. Last reviewed: 22 September 2026.
Why storage now decides whether you can buy
Storage used to be something you sorted out after the permit. That changed on 1 July 2026. Under the Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025, a Permit to Acquire must not be issued unless the Commissioner is satisfied the applicant will meet the safe storage requirements for the firearm. In practice: an inspection, with a passed outcome, at the address you nominate.
You arrange it yourself. Contact your local Police Area Command or Police District — the Registry publishes an email address for each — and book a time. The inspection produces an event number that goes into the PTA application.
Two things catch people out. The inspection has to cover the right level: storage approved for Category A and B does not support a PTA for a Category C rifle. And if the firearm will live somewhere other than your own home, that address needs its own inspection. Book early, before committing to anything in our firearms range.
What NSW requires, and what it doesn't
Section 39 of the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW) sets the general duty: take all reasonable precautions so the firearm is kept safe, isn't lost or stolen, and doesn't reach unauthorised hands. Section 40 sets the specifics for Category A and B, section 41 for C, D and H. The technical detail sits in Instruments of Approval issued by the Commissioner, published by the NSW Police Firearms Registry alongside its Safe Storage fact sheets — Level 1 for A and B, Level 2 for C, D and H.
Here's what most buyers get wrong: NSW does not mandate an Australian Standard for domestic firearms storage. There's no AS number to look for, and a cabinet marked "meets Australian Standards" is making a claim the NSW requirements don't reference. What counts is the Act and the current Instrument of Approval.
Storage requirements by category
| Category | Storage requirement |
|---|---|
| Category A and B (Level 1) | Locked receptacle, commercially manufactured, of steel or hardwood, not easily penetrable and fully enclosed. Solid metal lock: a three-point locking system with an internal mechanism, or an equivalent. An external padlock must have a body at least 40 mm wide and a hardened steel shackle. Fixed to the structure if it weighs less than 150 kg empty. |
| Category C and D (Level 2) | Locked steel safe, commercially manufactured and designed for securing firearms, not easily penetrable. Anchored by at least four anchor points regardless of weight, fitted internally through the rear or base into masonry, or into wall studs and floor joists. |
| Category H — pistols (Level 2) | Same Level 2 safe and four-point anchoring as Category C and D. In addition, a Permit to Acquire for a pistol on a target shooting genuine reason must be supported by a written statement confirming adequate storage arrangements. |
| Ammunition (all categories) | A locked metal container, or a commercially manufactured locked ammunition container, separate from the firearms — or an integral lockable steel compartment within the safe. The key or padlock must not be kept inside the firearms receptacle or immediately nearby. |
Construction: what the safe has to be
It must be commercially manufactured, designed for securing firearms, and fully enclosed. The Registry's guidance on racks and shackles is explicit that "receptacle" in sections 40 and 41 means a container where the firearms aren't visible, so a rack alone fails unless it sits inside a locked room.
On steel thickness: the Instruments of Approval and fact sheets do not specify a thickness in millimetres. The test is qualitative — steel or hardwood that is not easily penetrable. Anyone quoting a hard millimetre figure as a NSW legal requirement is repeating something from another state or from marketing copy. The current specification is the one published by the NSW Police Firearms Registry, and our gun safes are chosen against it.
Locks are specified more tightly than the steel. A single cam lock on a thin door is where most cheap imports fail.
Bolting down: the 150 kg rule and the four-point rule
These are two different rules and they get mixed up constantly. For Category A and B, a receptacle under 150 kg empty must be fixed to the structure. Almost every domestic safe is under that weight, so assume you're bolting it down. A safe over 150 kg empty needn't be anchored, but section 39 still applies.
For Category C, D and H, weight is irrelevant. Four anchor points minimum, fitted internally through the rear or base. Into brick, stone or concrete, the anchors go into masonry. Into a timber frame, they go into the studs and floor joists — not plasterboard, not the particleboard behind a wardrobe.
This matters more than it used to. Straight-pull and pump-action rifles are being reclassified to Category C under the 2025 amendments, on dates to be proclaimed, with the buyback commencing 2 November 2026. Owners who've kept those rifles in a Level 1 cabinet will need Level 2 storage.
Ammunition: locked, and separate
Ammunition goes in its own locked container — plastic, wood, metal or steel, sturdy and not easily penetrated — separate from the firearms. A cash box with an internal key or combination lock works, as does a hasp and staple with a padlock. Many safes include an integral lockable steel compartment, which satisfies separation inside the one cabinet. The rule that gets missed is the key: it must not be kept within the firearms receptacle or immediately nearby.
Propellant powder is a separate regime. Under the Explosives Regulation 2024 (NSW), a firearms licence holder may keep up to 12 kg of propellant powder, along with percussion caps and ammunition, without an explosives licence. Above that you're into SafeWork NSW territory. Our ammunition range is collection from store only.
Where the safe may be located
Three locations are standard: your principal place of residence, premises observable from an inhabited dwelling, and a licensed dealer's business premises. Anywhere else attracts much heavier conditions — a trigger or barrel lock on each firearm, each individually secured within the safe, a remotely monitored alarm on the safe, and a monitored intruder alarm with duress facilities, offsite notification and internal motion sensors.
The practical line is visibility. An attached garage is fine. A shed out of sight of any occupied dwelling is not, and alarming a farm shed usually costs more than moving the safe indoors.
What the inspecting officer checks
- That the safe is at the address on the Registry's record, and matches the category stored.
- The anchoring. They'll look behind and underneath, count anchor points on a Level 2 safe, and give it a push.
- The lock: three-point mechanism or equivalent, and whether it operates properly.
- That ammunition is in a separate locked container, and where both keys are kept.
- That the firearms present are the ones registered to you, with nothing outside the safe.
- At a non-standard location, evidence the alarm and monitoring are in place.
The most common reasons a safe fails
- Not anchored, because the safe "feels heavy enough".
- Anchored into plasterboard or a wardrobe base instead of a stud, joist or masonry.
- Ammunition loose in the safe alongside the firearms.
- The ammo box key on top of the box, or the safe key in the drawer beside it.
- A thin cabinet with a single cam lock and no three-point mechanism.
- A Level 1 cabinet holding a Category C or H firearm.
- The storage address on the licence no longer matching where the safe is.
What changes when you move house
Section 69 of the Act requires you to notify the Firearms Registry of a change of details, covering both your residential address and your storage address. Do it through the NSW Police Community Portal — updating your address with Service NSW does not update Registry records, except at online licence renewal. Do it promptly: the Registry's fact sheets differ on whether the window is seven days or fourteen, so treat seven as the deadline.
Don't leave firearms at the old address once you've moved. Expect to re-anchor — fixings that worked in brick won't work in a timber frame. And if a Permit to Acquire is coming, book the inspection as soon as the safe is installed.
Common questions
Does my gun safe have to be bolted down in NSW?
If it holds Category A or B firearms and weighs less than 150 kg empty, yes — it must be fixed to the structure, and almost all domestic safes are under that weight. If it holds Category C, D or H firearms, it must be anchored by at least four anchor points regardless of weight.
What steel thickness does a NSW gun safe need?
NSW does not specify a thickness in millimetres. The receptacle must be commercially manufactured, designed for securing firearms, and made of steel or hardwood that is not easily penetrable. The current specification is published by the NSW Police Firearms Registry in its Safe Storage fact sheets and Instruments of Approval.
Do I need a storage inspection before a Permit to Acquire?
Yes. From 1 July 2026 a Permit to Acquire cannot be issued unless there is a valid, passed safe storage inspection at the nominated address, at a level appropriate to the firearm. You arrange it through your local Police Area Command or Police District and quote the resulting event number in the application.
Can I keep ammunition in the same safe as my firearms?
Yes, provided it is inside a separate locked container within the safe, or an integral lockable steel compartment built into it. It cannot sit loose alongside the firearms, and the key must not be kept in the firearms receptacle or immediately nearby.
Is there an Australian Standard for gun safes in NSW?
No. NSW storage requirements come from sections 39 to 41 of the Firearms Act 1996 and the Commissioner's Instruments of Approval, not from an Australian Standard. A safe marketed as meeting an Australian Standard is not automatically compliant in NSW.
Can I store my firearms in a shed?
Only if the shed can be observed from an inhabited dwelling. If it can't, it counts as a non-standard location: trigger or barrel locks on each firearm, each individually secured within the safe, a remotely monitored alarm on the safe, and a monitored intruder alarm with offsite notification covering the premises.
Disclaimer
This information is general information, not legal advice, collated from various online sources by an LLM assistant. In all cases refer to the NSW Firearms Registry for any legal or ownership matters. E&OE.