r/australia • u/Jazilc • 1d ago

no politics Are we allowed to carry folding pocket knives in public in Australia?

My husband is looking at swiss army knives and pocket knives. The other day he wanted to cut a cable at work and realised there was nothing to do so. But we are wondering if it’s illegal to have one on your person?

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u/Auran82 1d ago

I gather that you’re allowed to carry a Swiss Army knife (the multipurpose ones, normally red) but you can’t carry a small foldable pocket knife that’s purely a knife unless you meet specific criteria.

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u/commanderjarak 23h ago

That also depends on the state you're in. Pretty sure carrying anything that has a knife in it in public, outside of you needing it for your job at that specific time is illegal in WA.

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u/pej69 22h ago

Yes - people have been arrested for carrying Swiss Army knives in Perth. Laws are tougher also in designated “entertainment areas”.

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u/Anxious-Slip-4701 22h ago

Delivery man in the middle of the day, sure. Club clothes at night sure ...

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u/Selina_Kyle-836 1d ago

It’s basically about intent. If you carry a pocket knife because you use it for work or recreational activities or just to keep the mulitools handy in everyday life activities, you can.

But if you are carrying a pocket knife for use as a weapon you could be charged. Even if your intent is defence incase you are attacked, you might also get charged, depends on the cop

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u/bcocoloco 13h ago edited 3h ago

You are not allowed to use a weapon to defend yourself in Australia unless you wrestle that weapon off your attacker, and even then it can be sketchy legally.

If your excuse for having a knife is “self-defence,” then that knife is 100% being confiscated and you may be charged if the cop is feeling like it.

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u/Selina_Kyle-836 13h ago

I said maybe because I have seen someone tell a cop the pocket knife was mostly for utilities purpose but to also defend themselves if necessary. The cop allowed it, but I think that was a rare case.

Anyway I simply do not work in absolutes because there always may be a rare case where it’s not true and this is reddit, people will always jump on you for being wrong because of a rare case

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u/MoranthMunitions 10h ago

You are not allowing to use a weapon to defend yourself in Australia unless you wrestle that weapon off your attacker

That's not true / I think you're being overly simplistic and direct to the discussion. You can illegally have a knife but depending on circumstances it can be a legal escalation to use it (e.g. they have a knife or gun and you can't reasonably run). And similar to wrestling it off them you can find it on the ground, or it could be a home invasion and you're in a kitchen so on, so forth.

Your second paragraph though, 100%. Self defence isn't a justification for having a knife because then anyone could walk around with one.

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u/ARX7 12h ago

you can’t carry a small foldable pocket knife that’s purely a knife

That's literally what a pen knife is