No. Completing firearms training and holding a weapons licence are two very different things. For armed security work in Queensland, you need to complete the approved specialist security guard firearms training and then successfully apply to Queensland Police Service Weapons Licensing for a Security Licence (Guard).

Queensland law specifically requires an armed security guard to hold this licence, and completing the training alone does not authorise you to possess or use a firearm while working. A Security Licence (Guard) is an occupational weapons licence. It is issued specifically because you need the weapon to perform authorised security guard duties. This is very different from firearms licences issued for purposes such as recreational shooting or primary production on rural property. Those other licence types do not give somebody permission to carry a firearm into a shopping centre, bank or other workplace to perform armed security duties.

Armed security also involves very different practical skills. A security guard may need to safely carry a firearm in a holster, draw and control that firearm under pressure and make extremely serious decisions about its use. That requires specialised, supervised practical training – not simply experience shooting recreationally on a range or rural property. Even after obtaining a Security Licence (Guard), you cannot carry the firearm whenever you like. If you are employed by a security organisation, the weapon must be issued by that employer during your shift, and you can possess it only while actually performing security duties that reasonably require the weapon, such as escorting cash or valuables.

At BARS Training Australia, we treat the training and the licence as two separate steps: we provide the specialist training; Queensland Police Service decides whether you are issued the Security Licence (Guard).