From 1 September 2025, machetes will be classified as prohibited weapons, meaning they will be banned for sale and possession in Victoria. Machetes can be broadly described as a cutting edge knife with a blade of more than 20 centimetres. However, the government will consult with industry on this definition before the ban starts, with kitchen knives not intended to be included. To lawfully possess a machete – for agriculture or hunting purposes, for example – you will need to apply for a permit. In Victoria, possessing a prohibited weapon can attract a sentence of up to two years imprisonment.
The machete ban is part of a broader package of laws aimed at addressing crime, particularly knife-related offences. The Government will also amend the Terrorism (Community Protection) and Control of Weapons Amendment Bill, which is currently before the Victorian Parliament, to allow the Chief Commissioner to declare a location a designated search area for up to six months, instead of 12 hours. This is a significant expansion of police powers.
Currently, the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police can declare a location like a train station or a shopping centre a designated search area so police can search people without a warrant or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and seize items. However, a place can only be declared a designated search area for 12 hours at a time.
Within a designated area, during the period of time declared, members of Victoria Police have the power to:
- stop and search any person – or anything that is in the possession or control of a person – any vehicle or anything in or on a vehicle for weapons
- detain a person or vehicle for so long as is reasonably necessary to conduct a search
- seize and detain any item the Victoria Police member reasonably suspects is a weapon
- request the identity of a person, if a strip search is authorised and conducted.
It is a separate offence to obstruct or hinder a search.
Critics of these amendments argue this policy will result in significant over-policing and racial profiling.
Currently, the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police can declare a location like a train station or a shopping centre a designated search area so police can search people without a warrant or reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and seize items. However, a place can only be declared a designated search area for 12 hours at a time.
Within a designated area, during the period of time declared, members of Victoria Police have the power to:
- stop and search any person – or anything that is in the possession or control of a person – any vehicle or anything in or on a vehicle for weapons
- detain a person or vehicle for so long as is reasonably necessary to conduct a search
- seize and detain any item the Victoria Police member reasonably suspects is a weapon
- request the identity of a person, if a strip search is authorised and conducted.
It is a separate offence to obstruct or hinder a search.
Critics of these amendments argue this policy will result in significant over-policing and racial profiling.
