Yes, I’ll need to look into the Australia, especially WA, firearm laws. I’m ex-military and have a few firearms, so I need to see if I’d even be able to keep any of them. From what I’ve read so far, self-defense isn’t considered a valid reason to own a firearm there, so mine would only be for things like hunting or protecting against non-human threats…
If you like your firearms, don’t come to WA… the new laws are a nightmare to navigate and you will need to jump through many hoops over a long period of time. It’s not known as the nanny state for nothing.
For hunting you can only do on private property with the owners written approval. No hunting on crown land, state forests or national parks. To get a long arm, you will need an authorisation from a registered property owner to use as a genuine reason to own a firearm. In WA the firearm is licensed. So you need approval for each firearm. Property authorisation provided by the property owner are limited in numbers along with calibres allowed based on property size.
Applications for new firearm licenses can take a long time and you will be subjected to a security, psych screening, practical and written exam. Not sure how easy this would be if your not a resident. Federal government is trying to stop anyone owning firearms who is not a citizen.
Storage requirements are extensive and expensive. The number of firearms you can own is limited.
You can also go down a club shooting path, but this can take up to 12 months to get firearms support. Plus in general those firearms cannot be used for hunting. Likewise hunting firearms can only be used at a range for sighting in or load development. If you want target shoot with your hunting firearms you need to have a dual license.
Target shooting on private property, including clay targets etc is illegal. You can only sight in your rifle on private property.
Handguns are another level and strictly controlled. Unless your primary producer with large dangerous stock, you can only get a hand gun via a club. Extra storage requirements and like all club supported firearms you need to complete a minimum number of attendances per year to keep them.
The new laws effectively give the police commissioner powers to change the regulations that underpin the skeleton laws, without any scrutiny from parliament, so things can change fast. Additionally the fit and proper person element means that the police can say they don’t believe you are fit and proper to own a firearm and do not need to provide evidence. There are association laws in that if someone you know, work with, are related to are not considered fit and proper or prohibited from owning firearms, you can lose yours too. You will need to have a squeeky clean record too.
Good luck, recommend you look at QLD if you enjoy firearms.
