Yes, I’m in Australia. Yes, we are allowed to keep weapons at home. Yes, we are allowed to use weapons outside the home - the most common purpose being for hunting, which some people do professionally, and others do as a sport.
Gun laws were changed in the aftermath of the Port Arthur Massacre of 1996 - in essence, the rules on licencing were changed so people have to have the right licence to own and use particular firearms. We also have universal registration (we had that before 1996). But unless you have a criminal record, it’s very easy to get a basic licence (which allows for basic hunting style rifles and shotguns) and it’s not that difficult to get higher level licences allowing for handguns and semi-automatics provided you’re willing to fill in the right forms. Fully automatics are pretty much impossible for a normal person, and some semi-automatics are almost as restricted, and there are calibre limits on handguns (I own a .38 because getting a licence for a .38 is a lot easier than getting one for a handgun with a higher calibre than that).
Our gun laws are a long, long way from perfect, but they are nowhere near as bad as people have sometimes lead to believe. There are millions of legally held firearms in private hands in Australia - most are non-semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, but there’s still quite a lot of us with more than that as well.
Thank you for clarifying. Hopefully some other FReepers will see your post as I think there is some confusion about your laws. Of course, over here, there is confusion when traveling through different States. (Not that I would want any national laws)