An Australian-first machete ban may be ineffective in stemming the tide of knife crime, with thugs likely to ignore it or turn to substitute weapons.
The Victorian government will move laws in parliament to ban the sale and possession of machetes from September 1 to combat their rising use.
There were 265 aggravated burglaries in the state over the past 12 months involving machetes.
The wide-bladed weapons were also part of three homicides in the past six months.
“The United Kingdom took 18 months to work through a ban on machetes,” said Premier Jacinta Allan.
“We’re doing this in six months.”
Victorian police confiscated more than 15,000 edged-weapons in 2024, a 10-year high, acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent said.
Machetes were increasingly being used by youth gangs in street fights, assaults, carjackings, aggravated burglaries and home invasions.
Under the legislation to hit the upper house this week, those caught carrying a machete would face up to two years in prison or fines of more than $47,000.
The state government hasn’t settled on what constitutes a machete but said they can be broadly defined as a knife with a blade of more than 20cm.
A three-month amnesty from September 1 to November 30 allows people to dispose of machetes in secure bins at sites such as police stations without facing penalties.
Exemptions after the ban will only be provided in limited circumstances, including for hunting and agriculture.
Natalia Antolak-Saper, a senior lecturer in law at Monash University, said the proposed ban might reduce visibility but was unlikely to significantly deter determined offenders.
“This proposal feels more like a response to political optics (i.e. visible weapons, media-fuelled crime anxiety) than a comprehensive crime prevention strategy,” Dr Antolak-Saper told AAP.
She pointed out people carrying machetes with the intent to commit crimes are likely already disregarding existing weapons laws.
“Offenders may simply substitute machetes with other weapons, such as knives, bats, or tools, which raises concerns about displacement, not deterrence,” Dr Antolak-Saper said.
Machetes were made a controlled weapon in March 2024, meaning they could not be possessed, carried, or used without a lawful excuse or sold to anyone under 18.
The premier wants major retailers to stop ordering machetes ahead of the ban, and Victoria will write to the federal government to take action on imports and explore a national ban.
