Despite the National Firearms Agreement which passed in just 12 days in response to the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996, there is no one national gun law and no single age at which a child can use a firearm across the states and territories.

Roanan Cornish was 12 years old when he first used a firearm.

The thirteen-year-old, who lives on a farm just outside of Bendigo in central Victoria, learned how to correctly handle a .22 calibre rifle as part of a firearm safety course at his local rifle range.

To obtain a junior firearm licence in Victoria, applicants must be aged between 12 and 17 and complete the Victorian Firearm Safety Course.

"It just teaches me about firearm safety and it's a fun activity to do," Roanan said.

His mother Janine Cornish, who also grew up on a farm and first used a firearm at the age of 12, thinks that is a good age to learn how to handle a gun.

"It certainly doesn't want to be any younger than that," she said.

However, the national president of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) Geoff Jones supports children younger than 11 having access to guns.

He comes from Queensland where an 11-year-old can obtain a minor's licence.

"We believe that in certain circumstances, under supervision, it could be reasonable to even allow them to have limited access under that age," Mr Jones said.

He provided the example of children wanting to accompany a parent at a shooting range.

"It's all a matter of developing this culture of care and respect," Mr Jones said.

With about 6,000 junior members from across the country, the SSAA has worked with schools, scout groups and other junior community groups for the last 50 years.

No age restrictions in WA

Queensland is not the only state to allow children under the age of 12 to handle a firearm.

Whereas in most states and territories the legal age for a child to obtain a junior or minor's firearm licence is 12, in Western Australia it is a different story.

The minimum age for the issue of a firearm licence or permit for the firearm itself is 18.

However, there are no age restrictions for a child to use a firearm.

A child of any age can use a firearm in WA if they are under the direct supervision and guidance of the licenced firearm holder for that firearm.

"Children can never be taught that sort of thing early enough," Mr Jones said.

"It's no different to teaching children the stove is hot — 'do not put your hand on the stove', so to speak.

"There's danger and caution to be taken, and all those things."

Janine Cornish on the family farm supervising her 13-year-old son Roanan. ( ABC Central Victoria: Larissa Romensky )

Kids, firearms and hunting trips

Like gun licence laws, hunting is regulated separately by each state and territory government.

So it is not just the fees, charges, types of animals hunted and locations that vary but the licence requirements, including the permissible age of children.

In most states children can use a firearm under supervision on a hunting trip with their junior or minor's licence.

However in Tasmania, even though children can gain a minor's permit at the age of 12, hunting permits are only available to minors who are 16 to 18 years old.

In South Australia, children under the age of 14 can obtain hunting permits.

In Victoria, children can handle a firearm under supervision on a hunting trip at the age of 12.

Practice shooting versus computer games

Ms Cornish will not allow her children to go on hunting trips until they are 18.

But she believes at the age of 12 children can understand the consequences of a firearm in a controlled environment like a rifle range or the family farm.

She said she believes a firearm safety course provides a far more realistic expectation of guns than many computer game that young teenagers play.

"In Grand Theft Auto, for instance you just go and shoot at whatever and it's all very well and good," Ms Cornish said.

"Actually putting a live firearm in a controlled environment, into a kid's hands, gives them a very real expectation of what a firearm can do and how you need to respect it."

She said the Victorian Firearm Safety Course was "the best thing" her two children had done.

"I know confidently that my kids could go and shoot and always know the safe way to handle a firearm," Ms Cornish said.

"You teach them the right way to do things early and then they're set for life."