Croker v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force [2023] NSWCATAD 299

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Croker v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force [2023] NSWCATAD 299 Hearing dates: 14, 20 June 2023 Date of orders: 10 November 2023 Decision date: 10 November 2023 Jurisdiction: Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division Before: S Leal, Senior Member Decision: 1. The decision of 22 December 2022 to refuse the applicant a category AB firearms licence is set aside. 2. A Category AB firearms licence is to be issued to the applicant. Catchwords: Firearms – licensing – refusal – public interest – confidential material Legislation Cited: Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 Firearms Act 1996 Cases Cited: Webb -v- Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police [2004] NSWADT 110 Ward -v- Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police Service [2000] NSWADT 28 SZOOR v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (2012) 202 FCR 1 Texts Cited: None Cited Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mr R Croker (Applicant) Commissioner of Police (Respondent) Representation: Mainstone Lawyers (Applicant) Bartier Perry Lawyers (Respondent) File Number(s): 2023/00007611 Publication restriction: Pursuant to s64(1)(b), 64(1)(c) and 64(1) (d) of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013, the publication and release of the material in those paragraphs marked [NOT FOR PUBLICATION] are not to be released to any person other than the respondent or their representative.

Reasons for decision 1. Mr Croker requires a firearms licence to run his wild game culling service. Following the suspension of his licence due to a domestic incident in 2022, Mr Croker's subsequent application for a Category AB firearms licence was refused. He has applied to this tribunal for a review of that decision. 2. The Firearms Act 1996 provides for the regulation, control and registration of firearms. The underlying principles of the Firearms Act are to confirm firearm possession and use as being a privilege that is conditional on the overriding need to ensure public safety, to improve public safety and to facilitate a national approach to the control of firearms. (s3 of the Firearms Act 1996) 3. A firearms licence may be refused for a number of reasons, including where the Commissioner of Police considers that the issue of the licence would be contrary to the public interest. Mr Croker's application for a firearms licence was refused for this reason. (s11(7) of the Firearms Act;. 4. Included in the evidence before me is confidential material provided by the Commissioner of Police. I have considered this confidential material without making it available to either Mr Croker or his legal representatives. This is because the material is relevant to my task of determining the correct and preferable decision in a statutory context where firearm possession and use is a privilege conditional on the overriding need to ensure public safety. (s75 (5) of the Firearms Act 1996). 5. For the reasons that follow, I have decided that the decision by the Commissioner of Police to refuse a licence to Mr Croker should be set aside.