After almost a decade of campaigning, Delta Force Paintball; in conjunction with the Australasian Paintball Association (AUPBA) and the NSW paintball industry as a whole; are proud to announce a number of positive changes to the laws and regulations that govern the sport of paintball in NSW. These changes will equate to one of the largest paintball reforms in the history of the NSW paintball industry. Please review the AUPBA Press Release for more information.
The AUPBA have been working closely with the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation and NSW Firearms to bring the NSW paintball regulations inline with several other pace-setting states in Australia. The key points from this Cabinet approval include:
- The NSW government has agreed to modernise the regulatory structure and reduce red tape for the paintball industry, while maintaining robust public safety controls.
- The Government intends to introduce legislation in 2018-19 which will give effect to the new regulatory scheme.
- Under the new scheme, responsibility for regulating the industry will transfer from NSW Police to the Department of Finance, Service and Innovation (DFSI). There is expected to be a reduction in the minimum age for players, and streamlining of the permit system. Consumer protection and community safety remain two of the highest priorities for the government and these considerations underpin any legislative changes.
- It will take some time after the legislation passes the NSW Parliament to commence the new regulatory scheme – DFSI will need to put in place to the new IT infrastructure to support the scheme, and venues will need to ensure that public liability insurance, working with children checks and work health and safety systems are updated to prepare for these changes.
- DFSI looks forward to continuing to work with industry during the transition phase.
Similar archaic restrictions apply in the Victorian paintball industry and Delta Force Paintball in partnership with the AUPBA, have been conducting campaigning efforts to help make the sport more accessible to members of the Victorian public. As part of the paintball reform efforts in Victoria, Delta Force Paintball is working hard to improve the overall safety and quality of the experience that we provide. As a business, we invest heavily into designing our own top-of-the-range full head protection goggles, we invest heavily into the training and development of our employees and we develop and enforce safety protocols that guarantee the safety of our customers.
It’s an exciting day for paintball advocates and businesses across New South Wales and we’re hopeful that this positive change will help progress the paintball reform efforts in Victoria and other states in Australia. The two NSW-based Delta Force Paintball centres are now busily preparing to open their doors to a new, younger market with bespoke paintball playing arenas and customised paintball equipment.
