VICTORIA FAST-TRACKING MACHETE BAN AFTER RISE IN KNIFE CRIME:
* Law changes will reclassify machetes from controlled items allowed to be carried for legitimate purposes, to prohibited weapons that can only be carried with an exemption
* Prohibition to take effect from September 1
* Machetes can be broadly described as a cutting-edge knife with a blade of more than 20cm, but the government is yet to settle on a definition
* Kitchen knives are not included in the ban
* People caught carrying a machete could face up to two years in prison or fines of more than $47,000
* A three-month amnesty will run from the day the laws take effect, allowing people to dispose of the weapons without facing penalties in secure bins at police stations and other sites
* Exemptions will only be provided in limited circumstances, including for hunting and agriculture
KEY CRIME STATS THAT LED TO MACHETE BAN:
* Machetes are increasingly being used by youth gangs in street fights, assaults, carjackings, aggravated burglaries and home invasions, Victoria Police Commissioner Rick Nugent says
* More than 15,000 edged weapons were seized in 2024, a record in the past 10 years
* About 635 stabbings have occurred in the past 12 months
* Machetes were involved in 265 aggravated burglaries committed in the past 12 months
* Three homicides in the past six months have involved machetes
KNIFE LAWS AROUND THE NATION:
* NSW – Police given powers to wand or scan people for knives without a warrant in designated areas. Offence to sell knives to a child under the age of 18, except for work or study. Illegal to have or wield a knife in a public place or school without a lawful excuse
* Queensland – Illegal to sell knives, edged weapons such as machetes, axes and swords to people under the age of 18 and people cannot carry a knife in a public place or a school, unless they have a reasonable excuse
* South Australia – Greater police powers to wand for knives in public places, illegal to supply or sell knives to minors with no exception, or to carrying knives at schools and public places
* Western Australia – carrying most types of knives and machetes in public is prohibited without a lawful excuse. Police given powers to declare any spaces a designated space and able to wand people for edged weapons
* Tasmania – offence to carry a knife or any other edged weapon considered a ‘dangerous article’ in public places without a lawful excuse. Police can publicly search people if they reasonably believe someone is in possession of a knife or dangerous weapon
* ACT – Cannot possess a knife in a public place or school without a reasonable excuse
* Northern Territory – Illegal to possess a sword or knife in a public place without a lawful excuse. Officers can search people for knives and other weapons in certain public places