How Victoria's machete sale ban will be enforced
From today, Victorians won't be able to buy machetes from a shop after knife-wielding youth gangs brawled at a shopping centre in Melbourne's north.
Police allege seven males, some armed with machetes, brawled at Northland Shopping Centre on Sunday.
Six have been charged with offences including affray and intentionally causing injury.
Here's what we know about the ban.
The sales ban starts today, Wednesday, May 28, at midday.
It's a total ban on selling machetes.
The state government says a machete is broadly described as a "cutting edge knife" with a blade longer than 20 centimetres.
Kitchen knives are not part of this definition.
The government has not provided more detail.
In March, the state government announced a raft of measures to tackle youth and violent crime in Victoria, including bail reform and a complete ban on owning machetes.
It says these laws are some of the toughest in the country, with the machete ban starting in September.
At the time, the government responded to criticism it was not moving fast enough by saying it needed time to implement the full ban — a position also supported by Victoria Police.
But following the brawl between gangs at Northland Shopping Centre on Sunday — where police say at least three machetes were used — the government brought the sales ban forward.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says the aim is to "choke" the supply of machetes as much as possible before the complete ban comes into place.
Victorian retailers will not be allowed to sell machetes, or store machetes with an intent to sell them.
The government says retailers should hold onto their stock in a safe place before the full machete ban starts in September.
This is when disposal, amnesty and exemption schemes will begin.
Even if you use a machete for work, you will not be able to purchase one from a Victorian retailer.
This is because the state government is using national consumer law to enforce this snap ban, which doesn't allow exemptions.
The government's own ban on machetes will start on September 1, which is when Victorians will have to apply for an exemption to buy these knives.
An example of an exemption is if a Victorian needs to use it in agriculture work, but the government has not released more detail.
The ban does not cover overseas or interstate retailers — only those that sell in Victoria.
But a youth support organisation has told the ABC machetes can be easily sourced online.
Victorian Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos has been asked about whether online availability will reduce the effectiveness of the ban, but did not directly answer the question.
"My expectation is that every retailer who does business in Victoria immediately removes machetes from sale," he said.
Australian Border Force says there are no restrictions on machetes entering the country from overseas, and the agency doesn't have oversight over how items move across state lines.
E-commerce giant Amazon said it was working to implement the ban for Victorian customers.
"Following the decision by the Victorian state government, we are working to ensure these products are not available for purchase from 12pm Wednesday," an Amazon spokesperson said.
Mr Staikos says it will be enforced through a "taskforce" run by Consumer Affairs Victoria.
But he was not able to answer specific questions about how big the taskforce was, or how it would be run — saying these sorts of operations were "business as usual" for the agency.
He did say the agency was communicating with retailers and would be "going around Victoria" to make sure businesses were complying.
He also said the agency would also inform market stall owners through local councils.
Mr Staikos says retailers caught selling machetes would be up for fines of more than $200,000 and possible jail time.
From September, machetes will become a prohibited weapon and only Victorians with an exemption will be able to purchase and own them.
The penalty for Victorians with a machete in their possession will be a fine of more than $47,000 or two years in jail.
But Victorians will be able to dispose of their machetes as part of an amnesty.
This amnesty will run from September 1 to November 30, where Victorians can legally hand in their machetes in outdoor bins at select police stations.
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