Federal police admit it inadvertently gave inaccurate advice to Prime Minister Tony Abbott about the Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis holding a gun licence.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Abbott questioned how Monis, who died with two of his hostages in a dramatic end to the 16-hour siege, could have obtained a gun licence.
But NSW Police was quick to contradict that statement, saying it had no record of Monis ever holding a licence.
Mr Abbott later clarified his information was based on a briefing provided by authorities, ordering the Australian Federal Police to double-check its advice.
The AFP on Thursday admitted Monis was not a registered firearms licensee and the information it gave to Mr Abbott was based on a manual entry of licence holders in a national registry.
"On the morning of Tuesday 16 December the AFP provided a brief to the prime minister regarding Man Haron Monis holding a registered firearms licence," it said in a statement.
"The AFP has since confirmed that Mr Monis was not a registered firearms licence holder."
How Monis accessed firearms will be investigated as part of a government-commissioned review.
