Are Gel Blasters Legal In Western Australia???

June 19, 2018

So the question of wheather a gel blaster is considered a firearm under the Western Australia firearms act comes up from time to time.

One of our customers also sent an email to weapons licencing asking if gel blasters were considered a firearm.

The response from weapons licencing in WA was fairly concerning.

"Gel-ball guns cannot be possessed in WA. They are classed as firearms and there are no provisions to possess or licence on. A person found in possession could be prosecuted.

Note, interstate legislation has no impact on WA legislation"

So this is the response given by weapons licencing in WA. At first, all of you blokes over there with gel blasters would assume that weapons licencing would know if an item is prohibited or not and you would assume that they are prohibited from that response.

One thing that I have learnt from my travels so far, is that the police force are not able to interpret legislation very well. On face value, they look at the legislation and it seems that they are right, have a look below.

"firearm includes any lethal firearm and any other weapon of any description from which any shot, bullet, or other missile can be discharged or propelled or which, by any alteration in the construction or fabric thereof, can be made capable of discharging or propelling any shot, bullet or other missile, but does not include anything that is prescribed in regulations under the Weapons Act 1999 to be a prohibited weapon or a controlled weapon"

Reading the above passage you would think that the police are correct and that gel blasters are covered by this legislation. However, the police are wrong and you would be too if you thought they were right.

You see, when Tactical Edge Hobbies went to court we discovered that the Word "other" is an interesting factor when interpreting the passage above.

the words "shot, bullet or other missile" are the main factors in determining a firearm. With our case, our barrister found that there is case law surrounding the rules when it comes to determining the meaning of these words. This is passed down from the high court so applies to all legislative interpretation decisions, this is Australia wide.

The rule is that the "other Missile" that you would think the gel ball is caught with, does not capture gel balls at all. The word that comes after the two preceding words cannot vary greatly from the original words.

In other words, "other missile" cannot just mean any old thing the police want it too. it has to be closely related to Shot and Bullet which we all know gel balls are not.

This is almost identical to the customs import regulations that we were able to win the decision back in December based on this interpretation.

The other interesting point is that the word, lethal is in there as well so I would like to see a Judge make a ruling against that.

In WA gel ball guns are not firearms full stop and weapons licencing is wrong on this one.

It just goes to show that the legislation needs a review. Even the guys trying to enforce the law don't know what the law is.

Thanks for reading, I have been promising an article on Airsoft and i will try to get that organised next week. I have just been flat chat.

This is not legal advice and should not be taken as such.

June 19, 2018

Just a question if you have a firearms licence in Australia wa can you get a gel blaster and put it under the firearms licence if you treat the gel blaster as if it was a real firearm

Jayce on September 27, 2023
It appears things are different now. I have been advised in writing:

The WA Police Force, in consultation with government, are currently considering Hydro Gel Blasters for inclusion in Schedule 1 of the Weapons Regulations 1999.
As yet they are not a firearm [in WA]
This does not preclude charges being preferred under alternative legislation where the possession and circumstances give rise to other criminal offences. Examples include offences where the possession and use facilitate a principle offence such as robbery or being armed to cause fear.

David on February 23, 2021
as of 2017 gel blasters are legal from the home affairs notice

Sicknutz on February 05, 2021
Latest position of the WA Firearms Licensing branch is that gel blasters are not currently regarded as firearms and are not illegal to possess at this time – https://imgur.com/yj6xcXS

Jay on October 28, 2020
There is still no definive answer to the main questions;
Do you ship to WA?
Have ANY shipments to WA been confiscated by customs?
If I’m going to spend $300 odd, I want to be sure I’ll receive my order, even if it ships inparts and requires assembly. So PLEASE Tac Edge staff, address these two issues for all of us in the Wait Awhile state! Peace.

Dan on October 22, 2020
I live in Western Australia and have bought several online and recieved via mail.They are however illegal.Tactiys has a great range they are a lot of fun just don’t get caught!!!

Su on September 26, 2020
To whom ever happens to read and reply,

I’m just wondering, can I make an order to deliver to WA? I understand the laws here are ridiculous and that it might get seized though it shouldn’t etc etc, I’m just wondering if you guys can actually ship to WA?

Cooper Flynn on September 14, 2020
Hey I live in western Australia port hedland I’m just wondering if it’s legal here?

Syed on September 09, 2020
Hey I live in western Australia port hedland do you know if it’s legal? Because I would love to buy some gel blasters

Syed on September 09, 2020
if i order a couple of these pistol gel blaster will they make it to me in adelaide sa have you heard or taken orders from sa and did the customer receive his package just dont wana waist my money

james on August 23, 2020
https://parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/pquest.nsf/3b051e205914713c4825718e00186cc2/247a14a84d07cb454825845f0029bf67?OpenDocument
I think this explains it best. WAPOL who aren’t the lawmakers, but are instead the enforcers of the law state that they are not legal, but also don’t state that they are illegal. This is because there is no specific law regarding gel blasters (only firearms acts which don’t apply. – Some argue that they do, but at a balistics level they don’t) but the police don’t want to admit this to the public. Therefore they say that gelblasters are not ‘legal’. They don’t say that they are ‘illegal’ because they can’t. Definitions of ‘legal’ center mostly around whether something is permitted through allowing, agreement, or the issuing of a relevant license. A lot of things that we do on a day to day basis do not fall into the category of ‘legal’, instead, those actions take place on a general principle of agreement within society that they are acceptable and do no harm to others. Therefore it can be argued that until proven in court, gelblasters do not carry a legal or illegal status and are subject to the same status as any number of other items in society also not of a legal or illegal status. The law however, does provide for charging individuals with offences relating primarily with creating fear and disturbance within the community. The bearer of a gelblaster which resembles that of a firearm may be charged under firearms offences if it can be reasonably proven that a member of the public felt endangered by the public appearance of the said gelblaster, and contacted the police out of fear for their safety. Anyone who has completed a firearms training course knows this, as it is drummed into you that if you show your firearm in public, then you had better be prepared for a hefty fine or jail time! So keep those gel blasters covered up when in transit, and only use them at a ‘safe’ location where the risk of being reported can be managed appropriately by field managers.

Dan on June 03, 2020
I live in Perth and I bought a pistol from tactical edge and it arrived easily.(I bought a gun that isn’t there anymore but I would recommend one with orange on the tip)

A Guy With A Gun on January 23, 2020

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Are Gel Blasters Legal In Western Australia???

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