Knife laws are sharpening across the country, and hardware retailers are now firmly in the frame.

Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales are currently the states to watch most closely. Queensland has some of the most detailed retail obligations, including restrictions on sales to minors, signage, advertising and secure storage of particular controlled items. 

Victoria has gone hardest on machetes, making them prohibited weapons unless an exemption or approval applies. South Australia’s next phase comes into effect on 1 July 2026, with retail signage and secure storage requirements. Western Australia now captures a broad range of “edged weapons”, including knives, machetes, sickles, scythes, axes and axe heads. NSW has strengthened its approach through knife sale restrictions and expanded police scanning powers in designated public areas. 

For timber and hardware businesses, this is no longer a narrow weapons issue. It potentially captures everyday products that sit in many of our members’ stores: utility knives, box cutters, replacement blades, machetes, axes, tomahawks, sickles, scythes, hunting and camping knives, and some garden or outdoor tools.

The key issue for members is not just whether a product is legal to sell. It is how it is sold, who it is sold to, how it is displayed, whether staff are trained, whether the store has appropriate signage, and whether particular items need to be secured behind a counter, in a cabinet or otherwise kept out of easy public access.

For states that have not yet introduced formal knife retail changes, the message is clear: this is likely to be coming. Governments are under increasing pressure to respond to knife crime, youth access to weapons and public safety concerns. Retail access is one of the most obvious areas for regulation, and the pattern is now emerging across the country.

Members should not wait until a new law is passed in their state. A sensible national approach would be to review the product range now, identify higher-risk bladed products, introduce age-check procedures, brief staff, check online product listings, remove any language or imagery that could suggest combat or intimidation, and consider whether some products should be moved behind the counter or secured.

This is also a staff safety issue. A young casual employee should not be left to make a judgement call at the counter with an agitated customer. The business should have a simple rule: where an item is age restricted, proof of age is required. Where there is doubt, the sale is escalated to a manager or declined.
 

NTHA has been monitoring these changes closely and engaging where proposed laws may affect hardware, timber and building supply businesses. We will provide members with more detailed guidance shortly, including a practical checklist covering product categories, staff training, signage, online sales and store layout considerations.
 

The direction is clear. Knife laws are tightening, and members should start preparing now.