An ex-policeman says he raised concerns about the NSW firearms registry but his pleas were ignored before the Bondi terrorist attack.

A retired police officer who spent years working at the NSW Firearms Registry says he predicted something like the Bondi terrorist attack years ago, but authorities never acted on his concerns.

Former senior constable Wayne Jackson spent the final nine years of his 30-year career at the registry and was the first active duty officer to be stationed there.

He said he questioned the processing of general firearms licences and permits to acquire new guns by civilian staff in the office.

“The gaps were really just the automation of the licences in the firearms process,” he told A Current Affair.

“The people casting eyes over these applications — and in turn, issuing the licences — is not there.”