16530 (2026). Tamatha Paul to the Minister of Police

16530 (2026). Tamatha Paul to the Minister of Police: How many police officers, if any, have been put on front-line duty despite being overdue for mandatory refresher training for using firearms since November 2025?

Hon Mark Mitchell: I am advised that between November 2025 and 1 May 2026, approximately 60 police officers were granted temporary, time‑limited exceptions that allowed them to remain on front‑line duties while overdue for mandatory firearms refresher training. These exceptions were issued on a case‑by‑case basis and were approved at District level. Exceptions were granted for a range of reasons, including illness, injury, pregnancy, approved leave, and firearms range closures due to adverse weather events. Officers covered by exceptions remained subject to operational oversight and at the conclusion of the exemption were recertified in their training. This information has been manually collated through District records, as Police does not currently hold a single centralised data field for firearms refresher training exceptions. Police has initiated work to explore enhancements to internal systems, including the Kronos rostering system, to allow exceptions of this nature to be more easily identified and reported in the future.