Thursday, 2 May 2019

Northern Victoria Region

In reply to Mr QUILTY (Northern Victoria) (7 March 2019)

Ms NEVILLE (Bellarine—Minister for Water, Minister for Police and Emergency Services):

There are several measures in place to protect the integrity of firearms registry data. All law enforcement data is subject to the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014. Under that Act, Victoria Police has data security obligations under the Victorian Protective Data Security Standards. The Office of the Victorian information Commissioner has an Assurance Model in place to monitor and measure data security practices against those Standards, which can include own motion audits and reviews.

Victoria Police relies on licence holders providing accurate and up to date information promptly and in the form and manner approved by the Chief Commissioner of Police. Victoria Police strives to ensure its processes and the quality of data retained on the system is of a high standard.

All licence holders are required, as per the conditions of their licence, to notify Victoria Police in writing of any change of address within 14 days. It is recommended that licence holders submit their notification using a change of details form, which can be downloaded from the Victoria Police website or obtained via their local police station. They can submit that form via email, fax or by post.

If an error in processing a change of address does occur, Victoria Police will amend any errors as soon as they become aware and will do all that is necessary to rectify the issue. A return address is provided on their envelopes and they would expect if a document is received at an address no longer connected to the licence holder that it would be promptly returned to police.

The ongoing rollout of Victoria Police’s Electronic Lodgement Project, which will include licence renewal applications, will also further reduce the need for Victoria Police to issue documentation by post.