What it does
The Weapons Act 1999 (WA) establishes a tiered regulatory regime prohibiting the importation, carriage, possession, sale, supply and manufacture of prohibited weapons while imposing qualified controls on edged weapons, controlled weapons and other articles capable of being used as weapons. At its core, s.6(1) makes it a crime, subject to limited exceptions in ss.6(2), 6(3) and 10, for any person to bring or send a prohibited weapon into the State, carry or possess it, purchase, sell or supply it, or manufacture it. The penalty is imprisonment for 5 years and a fine of $60,000, with a summary conviction penalty of 3 years imprisonment and a $36,000 fine.
Section 3A, inserted by the Police Legislation Amendment Act 2024 s.12, defines an edged weapon expansively to include knives, machetes, sickles, scythes, their blades, axes, axe heads, or any hand-held sharpened article made or modified to injure, disable, cause fear, or be used in martial disciplines. Subsection 3A(2) expressly excludes firearms, prescribed controlled or prohibited weapons, plastic or wooden eating knives, knives with rounded tips and dull edges, and any article prescribed by regulation not to be an edged weapon. Section 6A(1) then creates an offence of carrying or possessing an edged weapon without lawful excuse (maximum 3 years imprisonment and $36,000 fine), while s.6A(2) criminalises carrying or possessing an edged weapon even with lawful excuse if done in a manner reasonably expected to cause injury, disablement or fear thereof. Parallel supply offences appear in s.6B for selling or supplying edged weapons to children (under 18), with a defence in s.6B(3) if the accused believed on reasonable grounds the child had lawful excuse.
Controlled weapons are defined in s.3 as articles prescribed by regulation or any non-firearm, non-prohibited, non-edged article made or modified to injure, cause fear or for martial use. Section 7(1) prohibits carrying or possessing them without lawful excuse (2 years imprisonment and $24,000 fine), while s.7(2) prohibits threatening use even where lawful excuse exists. Section 8A creates corresponding child-sale and supply offences with identical penalties and a similar reasonable-belief defence.