Weapons Act 1999 (WA)

Western Australia

Western Australia

Weapons Act 1999

An Act to prohibit the bringing or sending into the State, carriage, possession, purchase, sale, supply and manufacture of certain weapons, to control the carriage and possession of other weapons, to amend —

• •

  the Firearms Act 1973 1; and

• •

  the Police Act 1892 1,

and for related purposes.

This Act may be cited as the Weapons Act 1999.

• (1)

  Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into operation on such day as is fixed by proclamation.

• (2)

  Sections 6, 7 and 8 and item 2 of Schedule 1 come into operation on the day 6 months after the day fixed under subsection (1).

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —

article includes a liquid or gas;

carry includes to have on or about one’s person;

child means a person who is under 18 years of age;

controlled weapon means —

• (a)

  an article prescribed by regulations to be a controlled weapon; or

• (b)

  any other article, not being a firearm, a prohibited weapon or an edged weapon, made or modified to be used —

• (i)

  to injure or disable a person;

• (ii)

  to cause a person to fear that someone will be injured or disabled by that use; or

• (iii)

  for attack or defence in the practice of a martial sport, art or similar discipline;

conveyance means anything used or capable of being used to transport people or goods by air, land or water and it does not matter how it is propelled or that it may ordinarily be stationary;

defence means self‑defence, defence of another or defence of property;

edged weapon has the meaning given in section 3A;

firearm has the meaning given in the Firearms Act 2024 section 6;

possess includes to have control or dominion over and to have the order or disposition of;

prohibited weapon means an article prescribed by regulations to be a prohibited weapon;

weapon means a prohibited weapon, an edged weapon, a controlled weapon or an article to which section 8 applies.

[Section 3 amended: No. 23 of 2024 s. 495; No. 33 of 2024 s. 11.]

• (1)

  An edged weapon means the following —

  • (a)

    a knife, a machete, a sickle or a scythe;

  • (b)

    a blade of an article referred to in paragraph (a);

  • (c)

    an axe or an axe head;

  • (d)

    an article with a sharpened edge, that is reasonably capable of being held in 1 or both hands, and that is made or modified to be used —

    • (i)

      to injure or disable a person; or

    • (ii)

      to cause a person to fear that someone will be injured or disabled by that use; or

    • (iii)

      for attack or defence in the practice of a martial sport, art or similar discipline;

  • (e)

    an article prescribed by the regulations…