Can I Carry A Knife For Self Defence?

Australia has recently had high-profile incidents of knife crime and deaths, with different states mounting their responses to address it. To tackle this issue, New South Wales has trialled police “wanding” operations that enable law enforcement to stop and scan people for metal objects in designated areas.

Initiatives such as Operation ARES and Operation FOIL have seen great success, with 59,228 scans being conducted, and 380 weapons being seized. So, the Government has just introduced legislation that permanently allows police to use wands.

The Government’s change aligns with recommendations from the recent Statutory Review from the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), in consultation with the NSW Police Force. Let’s delve into the relevant amendments and laws on police “wanding”, together with an overview of our current knife laws in NSW.

Knife Crime Laws in NSW: What You Can and Cannot Carry

While there are multiple knife-related offences across different legislations, the primary offence is custody of a knife in a public place or school, under section 93IB of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).

To be found guilty of this offence, the prosecution only needs to prove that an accused had a knife in their custody at a public place or school, without a reasonable excuse. This means that the prosecution does not need to find any other sort of motive or reason for having the knife – just physically possessing it will result in a guilty verdict.

The maximum penalty is 40 penalty units ($4,400) or imprisonment for 4 years, or both.

A more serious offence applies where a person uses a knife, or visibly carries a knife, in a public place or school in a way likely to cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety.

This is set out in section 93IC of the Crimes Act and carries a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units (currently $11,000) or imprisonment for 4 years, or both

Importantly, recent NSW reforms doubled this maximum penalty from 2 years, reflecting the Government’s harsh crackdown on knife crime.

However, some reasonable excuses except these offences. Recognised excuses under section 93IB include having the knife for your lawful work or trade (for example, a chef or a tradesperson), for education or training, for genuine recreation such as camping or fishing, for religious observance (such as a Sikh kirpan), or where it is reasonably necessary during travel to or from one of those activities.

Once the prosecution proves that the accused had custody of a “knife” – which is broadly defined and includes something like a razor blade – the burden of proof falls on the accused to establish a reasonable excuse on the balance of probabilities.

That is, the accused has to prove it was more likely than not (over 50% likely) that they possessed the knife because of a reasonable excuse.

While you may legally be allowed to carry knives, some weapons are banned outright, such as machetes and swords. Weapons like this are considered “prohibited weapons” under the Weapons Prohibition Act 1988 (NSW), and strictly require a permit to carry.

Is It Legal to Carry a Knife for Self Defence?

The legislation makes explicitly clear that having a knife to defend yourself or someone else is not a reasonable excuse. Section 93IB(4) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) says that it is not a reasonable excuse for a person to have a knife for self-defence or for the defence of another person. It is therefore illegal to carry a knife for self-defence purposes.

Can Sikh’s Carry a Kirpan in Public, Planes or Airports in Australia?

It is generally illegal to carry a Kirpan (known as a curved, single edged ceremonial blade carried by initiated Sikhs) in public unless it is carried for a genuine religious purpose, namely, for observing the Sikh faith. Section 93IB(3)(vii) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) provides this as a legitimate excuse. However, in Australia, an initiated Sikh cannot wear or carry a Kirpan on them while passing though airport security screening or in the cabin of an airplane. As it is considered a bladed weapon, an initiated Sikh may take the Kirpan with them if it is securely packed inside their checked luggage.

Are Police Allowed to Scan You for Knives in NSW?

Aside from the government attempting to deter offenders by making the penalties around knife crimes more severe, they have also enabled police to actively search for them.

Beginning on the 9^th of December 2024, NSW police have had the authority to use hand-held metal detectors – like ones you may see at the airport – to scan people for knives. These devices are commonly called “wands”.

These police powers are enshrined in Part 4A of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW), commonly known as LEPRA, and are modelled off Queensland’s “Jack’s Law”, after a teenager named Jack Beasley was fatally stabbed in 2019.

What sets the wanding power apart from regular stop and search powers is that the police do not need a warrant or reasonable suspicion that you are holding a knife. Essentially, wanding requires much less to be enforced, and largely relies on a police officer’s own discretion.

However, the powers are not unlimited and are subject to some important exceptions.

Importantly, wanding can only occur in a “designated area”. Only a senior police officer, which is someone of the rank Assistant Commissioner or above, has the authority to declare a designated area.

Only public transport stations, shopping precincts, and sporting venues can be deemed “designated areas”, but the new reforms will also add “major entertainment venues” to the list. Here, the Government is attempting to protect areas with large crowds and expand legislation to cover places that are influential across all parts of daily life.

Another restriction is that a “designated area” can only be declared in a location where a knife or weapons offence or at least one serious indictable offence involving violence against a person has occurred in the past 12 months.

A declaration lasts only 12 hours, but these reforms are extending this limit to 24 hours. The NSW Police Force must publish active declarations on their website, and a record of previous declarations can also be accessed.

When conducting a scan, an officer must identify themselves and their station, activate their body-worn camera, use the scanner in the least invasive way practicable, and explain why you are being stopped. If the wand detects a metal object, you may be directed to produce it.

Failing or refusing to comply with an officer wanding you without a reasonable excuse is an offence. This failure is punishable by a maximum of penalty of 50 penalty units ($5,500) – a strong deterrent.

An extremely crucial limit is that the power for police to wand you do not also enable them to search you. Stop and search laws are strictly stipulated under the LEPRA and requires that police have a reasonable suspicion about a person that is linked to tangible evidence – not just a vibe – and must be more than simply a hunch.

If police stop and search you without this reasonable suspicion, the admissibility of what they find can be challenged, which can result in an acquittal.

Wanding by police may cause this reasonable suspicion if they find or observe anything that inclines them towards it, but wanding itself is not necessarily a gateway into a stop and search.

While these wanding laws were initially set to be repealed on the 10^th of December 2027, these reforms make these police powers permanent. This means that we can expect police to be wanding people in designated areas for years to come, for better or for worse.

Controversy and Objections

Proponents of the reforms are glad that the Government is proactively working to minimise knife-crime – especially considering similar societies such as the United Kingdom, where knife violence runs rampant and is a grave social concern.

The reforms are well-intentioned and target the obviously dangerous offence of knife crime, some legal authorities have considered that, in light of knife crime in NSW actually being at an all-time low, they may do more harm than good.

Since so little is required for police to use this wanding power, organisations such as the Aboriginal Legal Services have highlighted the risk that this sort of indiscriminate searching will disproportionately affect Indigenous communities. These groups, who are already over-policed, may be unfairly disadvantaged by officers who exploit the laws to act on their implicit or explicit racial/cultural biases.

Though the wanding power is distinct from the stop and search power, critics are concerned that wanding will inadvertently become a stepping-stone for more invasive procedures. Since police may often find reasonable suspicion after a wanding search, it can essentially become a precursor to confronting stop and searches. So, wanding might effectively reduce the strict requirement that police reasonably suspect someone by giving them an easier avenue to find it.