Overview of Knives and the Law in Australia
Australia has a complex framework of laws concerning knives and sharp instruments, with regulations varying across federal, state and territory jurisdictions. Knives fall under the jurisdiction of both Commonwealth legislation such as the Customs Act, enabling laws banning switchblades and other knives deemed to be dangerous imports, as well as state laws, and prohibitions relating to their importation. States and territories each have their own legislation targeting their use, possession, and sale of knives, which may vary considerably in terms of their definition or inclusiveness – some laws are fully prohibito, while others are limited to certain classes or types of knife or designated locations. For example, self-defence knives, or those designed, adapted or intended for a combat purpose are often prohibited by default. However, there are also blanket prohibitions in each state in Australia making it illegal to possess, carry or use any knife at all "without lawful excuse", including responsible consumer and sport uses of common knives. In addition to Commonwealth legislation, when it comes to personal and home security we can also find legislation in each state and territory that means you cannot enter a school, sporting arena, courthouse, jail or airport (as common examples) whilst carrying a knife.
The bottom line is that under South Australian law, for example, knives are covered under the general criminal law banning carrying, using or threatening with an offensive weapon for purposes such as self-defence, or knife sales and use regulation under the National Trade Measurement Act (and its State equivalents). That means that unless you live in one of the four states that do not classify knives as weapons (SA, WA, QLD and the NT), under the South Australian Summary Offences Act 2005, it is illegal for a person without a good reason to carry a knife in public or to sell them, at risk of facing maximum fines of $5,000 for individuals and $50,000 for companies for summary offences, or up to 7 years in prison for indictable offences. The penalty relating to being a "dangerous weapon, similar to knives, for which offenders carry up to 14 years after being found guilty. It is worth noting as well how selling knives you intend to be used for self-defence, which is considered "a bad reason" for selling knives under the act , also carries a penalty of 7 years imprisonment if found guilty. Under the Summary Offences Act 2005 (Section 7) the penalty received for carrying a knife also depends on a person’s conduct in possession of a knife, so where a knife is used to cause fear or injury to any person or property, or for an unlawful purpose, will increase the penalty to up to 3 years imprisonment as a serious offence, or 1 year or more minor offences (clause 4A below).
Section 4A—Meaning of knife
(1) A knife is an offensive weapon.
(2) A knife goes beyond the meaning of knife including but not limited to the following:
(a) a knife within the ordinary meaning of the word,
(b) a folding pocket knife,
(c) a retractable knife,
(d) a dagger,
(e) a utility knife,
(f) a carving knife,
(g) a pocket knife,
(h) a sword,
(i) a sabre,
(j) a scimitar,
(k) an ornamental sword,
(l) a sheath knife,
(m) a belt knife,
(n) a bowie knife,
(o) a carving fork.
(3) The term knife, in ordinary use, applies to any cutting mechanism that has an edge for slicing or a tip that can be used to stab or spears a weapon with an edged blade such as a dagger or dirk.
Further to these state and territory laws, knives are also categorized as dangerous weapons under the federal Metalliferous Mining and Processing (Steel Industry Compliance Plan) Act 2012, which means it is a criminal offence to import knives into Australia. Specifically, provisions can be found under Section 232 of the Australian Criminal Code and Section 50 of the Customs Act 1995 making it illegal for anyone to make, sell, supply, offer or offer to supply knives for importation into Australia. Any such conduct is considered an offence of strict liability, meaning the defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact is not available. Penalties range from approximately $220,000 for individuals and up to $1.1 million for corporations, in addition to imprisonment sentences for up to 2 years for individuals. In the second instance, the law mandates a serious or aggravated offence against the person for importing weapons prohibited under the Act, so it is essential that both residents and visitors to Australia know what is illegal to import under customs laws before purchasing any banned knives online, where you may not be aware of these penalties and restrictions.
Common Legal Knives
Types of Legal Knives Permitted In Australia
The first type of legal knife is the folding knife. In essence, this knife will fold in the middle so that the blade is hidden behind the handle when in the folded position. Folding knives are not legal to be carried into these places – schools, educational institutions, jails, national parks and public transport. This is unless you have a ‘reasonable excuse’ for being in those places with them. Folding knives come in various forms from multi-tool knives to Swiss Army knives and kitchen knives in general. An example of a legal folding knife would be a pocket knife or a lockback knife. When carrying a folding knife, the blade length must be less than 12.5 centimeters in size, for the knife to be legal.
The second type of legal knife is one that has a blade that is under a set amount of centimeters long. As mentioned above, knives that are illegal to carry have a blade that is 12.5 centimeters long or more. Therefore, any knife with a blade that is shorter than this is legal to carry around. The most common knife of this kind is a Stanley knife, which you are able to legally have as long as the blade measures fewer than 12.5 centimeters in length, as it fits the description of a retractable blade knife. Other types of knives that can be carried around under the 12.5 centimeter length are kitchen knives, paring knives, warding chisels, fish fillet knives, utility knives, office and paring knives, pen knives, linoleum knives, keyhole saws, folding knives, small locks back knives and pen knives.
Coming in at third is kitchen knives that are usually permitted and can be carried around in public places, along with utility knives. As alluded to above, kitchen knives fall into a wide category, as there are any type of knife that is used for chopping purposes in the kitchen or a utility knife is fine. Keep in mind though that some knives appear on the list of offensive weapons that cause harm or have conditions attached to them. One example is a Stanley knife, where the blade is retractable. A sword that is made of plastic, rubber or is not sharp is also allowed. Rescue knives are legal to have too, which is a knife that is secured into a dedicated rescue sheath that protects the user from potential injuries. Finally, letter openers are also permitted.
If you would like some more information on legal knives within Australia, give us a call. We can help you determine what’s legal when it comes to carrying around a knife and answer any questions you may have, so you’re always protected.
Knives With Some Restrictions
Certain knives and blades have restrictions in most Australian states and territories. These include the weapons such as the daggers, swords and other large bladed weapons. These might be classed as weapons under certain legislation, meaning that the owner of such a weapon either requires a special permit or has to abide by certain conditions in order to possess or use that weapon.
For example, in New South Wales, each individual case is subject to whether the knife is for use as a weapon or tool. A sword being carried along a ceremonial processional would be exempt. This would also affect the storage, in that it might be appropriate to store it in a cabinet or in the shed at the back of the property. This is because of the perceived threat of a weapon being used as a weapon, and so it is recommended that they are stored safely and out of sight. Tying this back to the law, it is important that you are performing within the law or that reasonable excuse then becomes an offence and you have broken the law by not storing your weapon appropriately.
To give you an idea of the types of knives which would require permission or special circumstances, the legislation includes swords, sabres, dirks, daggers, swords, stilettos, kirpans, pushtan knives, crossed daggers knives, bayonets, canes with blades, push daggers, flick knives, flick swords, gravity knives, gravity switches, butterfly knives, catawba knives, concealed blades, stealth knives, shuriken, sewing needles longer than 2 cm, shurikens, any knife blade more than 12 cm long and trowel knives.
This aside, the majority of knives are not covered under state and federal law under simple exemption lists. For example, ordinary kitchen knives are not listed as an offensive weapon, whereas specialty hunting knives would be listed under ‘dagger’ above.
How To Be Compliant
The simplest way to ensure compliance would be to use those knives that are specifically excluded by the law. So for all of the states that are not Western Australia this includes: The same is true for states other than New South Wales where the law states that: In fact given that many work knives are exempted from the prohibition on the sale of certain knives, it makes little sense to buy a knife that is prohibited for sale. The problem is that products can be mislabelled with some store brands. For example I have seen ‘throwing stars’ labelled as ‘decorative’ stars. These types of knives usually have a very small blade, and looking at the images on the label, you can see that the blade would be prohibited even in Queensland. Often the thumbnail images on online product descriptions only show the handle. Because of this it is advisable to check with a store attendant in the state you live in if something is listed as a knife, but labelled other than ‘knife’. Remember depending on your state, orally mis-describing a knife can give rise to prosecution under the sale or distribution laws.
Penalties for Non-Conformance
In most jurisdictions, the offence of carrying an offensive weapon in public attracts criminal charges which carry a maximum sentence of five years. Weapons offences in Australia can result in significant fines. Below is a list of some of the maximum fines and penalties under the law.
— If found guilty for possessing a double edged knife it will attract a fine of $550
— If found guilty of possessing a offensive weapon it will attract a fine of $550
— If found guilty of possessing an imitation weapon it will attract a fine of $550
— If found guilty of possessing an explosive weapon it will attract a fine of $550
— If found guilty of possessing a crossbow it will attract a fine of $1100
— If found guilty of possessing an extendable baton it will attract a fine of $2200
— If found guilty of possessing a knife that is a prohibited weapon it will attract a fine of $550 .
— If found guilty of possessing an article that is intended to be used to cause a person to fear violence it will attract a fine of $550
— If found guilty of possessing a bladed article without a reasonable excuse it will attract a fine of $550.
— If found guilty of possessing or using an article to choke, bind, hold hostage or strangle a person to commit an offence it will attract a fine of $550.
— If found guilty of supplying a blade that is intended to be used to commit an offence this will attract a fine of $550.
— If being found guilty of failing to notify police of a knife related matter it will attract a fine of $550.
Knife Law Updates
Changes in Knife Laws
Late last year, Queensland passed the Criminal Law (Criminal Organisations Disruption) Amendment Bill 2013. However, despite a significant amount of publicity surrounding the introduction of this legislation and the harsh penalties that could be introduced, this legislation has not yet been brought into force. For now, the only change brought about by the Bill is an extension of Queensland’s anti-consorting laws, which were examined in our April 2013 edition. These provisions will shortly come into force and persons who have previously been convicted for particular offences will now face a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment for re-offending after having been advised against consorting by a police officer.
We expect that the Criminal Law (Criminal Organisations Disruption) Amendment Bill will be brought into force in the coming months. This legislation tightens Queensland and South Australian knife laws, introduces mandatory minimum penalties for a number of violent and repeat knife offences and restricts the types of knives that can be carried or used.
Given that these laws are likely to come into force in Queensland in the near future, we provide a summary of the key changes to Queensland law below.
Knife Carriers
Under the new offence, it will be unlawful to "carry a knife to cause fear" – the knife does not need to be of a particular type (such as a butterfly knife), "dual purpose" (i.e. the knife has a blade but is also a tool), or "offensive or dangerous" to fall within the definition of "knife to cause fear". In other words, the offence is wide enough to cover knives that are carried for totally innocuous reasons (for example, a kitchen knife that is carried because someone is visiting a friend who is moving house). The important question will be whether the person carrying the knife was carrying it with the intent to cause fear – however, in order to establish this intent it may be necessary that the person had already engaged in some kind of conduct towards the victim which would have made them afraid. The following table summarises the key characteristics of the new offence:
It is important to note that there are no exceptions for carrying knives for ‘performing a lawful function’ or ‘for a lawful purpose’, although once again whether you intended to cause ‘fear’ may be taken into account by a court. In addition, whilst the maximum penalty for this offence is 7 years imprisonment, if you are convicted twice then the court must automatically impose a 12 month term of imprisonment, without any possibility of parole, even where you might ordinarily have received a sentence of community service or suspended sentence.
Knife Offences
The second aspect of the Criminal Code amendments relates to a number of new knife offences, which will be in addition to the existing offences of possessing, using and supplying knives:
The maximum penalty for each of these offences is now 15 years imprisonment. These offences can now be charged summarily (i.e. in the Magistrates Court) or on indictment (i.e. in the Supreme Court), however in the case of a 2nd offence the matter must be dealt with on indictment. Where charged on indictment, each offence carries a minimum penalty (not allowed to be reduced by the court):
Where Can You Buy Legal Knives
In order to ensure compliance with the law when buying legally permitted knives in Australia, it is fundamental that you only buy from authorized dealers offering a selection of knives which meet local and national regulations. So how do you know you are buying a knife or machete that is legal to own?
It is essential that you check what dealers are considered to be in compliance with the laws. Some web stores claim to offer knives that are in compliance with the EC directive, and this means that the knives that they offer for sale possess features that differentiate them from swords or sabers and can be legally acquired across Europe . In Australia, training knives and most non-blade knives can also be legally acquired.
Any dealer wishing to sell knives, swords or machetes should be willing to inform consumers on whether the offered items are blade types, training knives, throwing knives, machaxes or non-blade knives. If the dealer is unable to provide information on the nature of a product or escapes questions about the nature of the item, you may want to consider such situation as a red flag. Any responsible authorized dealer selling knives, swords or machetes should be able to provide you with a full list of the products sold in his store and inform customers on the legal nature of each product.