Coroner reveals almost half of firearm suicides had gun licences after Ballarat man took his life

A Victorian coroner has recommended changes to the law after a Ballarat man shot his dog before taking his own life as alarming statistics are released.

A coroner has recommend changes to the Firearms Act after continued firearm suicides in Victoria​

A Victorian coroner has recommended changes to the law to stop people with a mental illness from owning a gun after a Ballarat man shot his dog before taking his own life in 2019.

In her findings Coroner Paresa Antoniadis Spanos found 418 Victorians had taken their life using a firearm between January 2009 and December 2020.

About 40 per cent of people who died by firearm suicide between 2009 and 2017 held a licence, with almost the same number having been previously diagnosed with one or more mental disorders.

The licence status was unknown in more than 34 per cent of deaths.

The data was revealed following an investigation into the death of a 50-year-old Ballarat man.

The coroner’s report said the kiln attendant had been diagnosed with depression in 2010.

While described as a “friendly and sensitive man who enjoyed camping and spending time with his dog” he was said to have been dissatisfied with his job and had ongoing anxiety about his work at a clay brick manufacturer.

The findings state the man had experienced a number of stressors which “adversely affected his mental health” in the lead up to his death by a self-inflicted gunshot injury on May 26, 2019.

This included increasing physical issues as a result of alcohol abuse, the receipt of an eviction notice, the possibility his dog was ill and his mother’s declining health — but he had no support in place.

The man was also involved in a crash late in the evening of May 25.

He fled from the scene before being stopped by police nearby where a breath test indicated he had been driving while three times over the legal alcohol limit.

Police dropped the man home just before 1am and within the hour he sent his friend a message saying he believed he would lose his job and home.

“He expressed an intention to take his life, saying he would take his dog with him,” the findings read.

His friend did not see the message until about 8am and immediately drove to his friend’s house, where he found both him and his dog dead on the bed.

According to the report, the man was first granted a firearm‘s licence in 1993 for “hunting purposes” and was granted another in 2017.

Police had no notes listed to indicate “any concerns” about him holding a licence.

Ms Spanos questioned how the man was able to obtain a licence given his mental health diagnoses.

She said the current system to obtain a licence relied “too heavily on the applicant being entirely honest and disclosing information against their own interest”.

She added weight to previous calls from other state coroners for the government to amend the Firearms Act to require all licence applicants to provide a medical report from a current treating medical practitioner, including all of their medical history and factors relevant to their suitability, before being able to own a gun.