Victoria will ban the sale of all machetes throughout the state until the start of September, Premier Jacinta Allan said today.
Allan said the sales ban, which would allow for no exceptions, would begin from noon Wednesday, May 28 AEST, and would run until September 1.
Under Australian consumer law, such bans can only be put in place on an interim basis, Allan said.
September 1 will mark the beginning of an amnesty period for Victoria’s Australia-first total machete possession ban statewide.
The government defines a “machete” as a cutting-edge knife with a blade of more than 20cm in length – but it does not include knives primarily used in kitchens.
“These knives are dangerous weapons, they have no place on our streets anywhere,” Allan said.
She claimed it was only possible to implement the sales ban now because of the work that had previously been done towards implementing the possession ban.
“Retailers are advised to store excess stock in a safe location until the disposal, amnesty, and exception schemes for banned machetes starts alongside the prohibition coming into force on September 1,” the state government said in a release.
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“We recognise the interim sales ban affects your existing stock and sales – but we must get these knives off shelves, off streets, and out of our lives.”
Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos said a task force would be established to check compliance, and warned that non-compliance would be a criminal offence.
Penalties could include fines of more than $200,000 and prison time.
