Above one of Brisbane’s busiest commuter intersections, a billboard advertises the Victrix bolt-action rifle.

Although the same Victrix bolt-action rifle is marketed in the US as suitable for uses including “military” and “law enforcement”, in Australia the Victrix (and similar weapons) are categorised with firearms licensed for hunting and sport.

Gun control advocates have dubbed the Victrix guns “high-powered and military-style”. They warn that an increasing range of these guns – which still have design specifications that allow them to be classified as sporting and hunting firearms – have hit the Australian market.



Gun Control Australia has called for a rewrite of weapons classifications, which the group says are outdated and do not properly codify modern hi-tech guns.

The group’s chair, Sam Lee, has pointed to several examples of category A and B weapons (those licensed for hunting and sport) that come with a box magazine that can be easily modified to increase capacity.

She said several weapons manufacturers were pushing models that had the base specifications of hunting or sports-shooting rifles, but with trimmings and capabilities that made them much more dangerous.

“They’re importing these firearms at very swift rates,” Lee said. “The category A and B were generally for single-shot and double-shot rifles and shotguns. The categorisation was set up in 1996 after the Port Arthur massacre. That’s 22 years ago and that hasn’t kept up with advances in technology.

“Gun manufacturers are obviously pushing the boundaries of those categories.”

Luca Scribani Rossi, a former Olympic shooting medalist and the managing director of Beretta Australia, which markets the Victrix range, said weapons companies did research and development to improve products, like other industries.

“That’s the nature of the game,” he said. “As long as it complies with the law, then I cannot see the argument.

“The way I see it is that in Australia we have gun laws and they’re probably the strictest around the world. Any modification that takes [a gun’s] magazine beyond [limits set out in firearms categories] is illegal. If people break the laws they become an offender and they need to be dealt with. That’s not an industry or a manufacturer problem.”

Rossi said the Victrix bolt-action rifle was designed for long-range target shooting. When asked about advertisements that listed “military” and “law enforcement” as suitable uses, he said long-range rifles were used for “exactly the same sort of shooting” as military snipers.

“I think the firearm industry is the only industry in Australia that is dealt with on emotion, rather than on facts,” he said. “When there are people speeding or drink driving, I’ve never heard calls for a ban on cars that go more than 110km/h.”

The Shooting Industry Foundation Australia said the categorisation of weapons was by “form and function”.

“All new firearm models are assessed before import and are approved and categorised by the federal government,” Laura Patterson, from the foundation, said.

“The reality is that GCA knows nothing about guns, and next to nothing about Australian firearms laws. [Their] frequent, incoherent and damaging comments only inhibit defence, law enforcement and civilian efforts to work together to protect this wonderful country.”

The foundation said actions such as a national digital register to track firearms transactions and replace the current paper-based system would improve community safety.

Some jurisdictions, including New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territoy, ban weapons that are designed to look like military weapons. Last year NSW banned Desert Tech rifles on that basis. Shooters groups argue appearance bans are pointless, as guns cannot be publicly wielded or displayed. Lee said the ban on military-style weapons should be extended Australia-wide.



A Brisbane resident, Michael Cahill, has complained about the billboard showing the Victrix bolt-action rifle, which he said was provocative and inappropriate. Gun Control Australia has called for it to be removed.