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| The Aussie Situation – Importing and Ownership of Swords Authored By Mike on Jul 22nd, 2007 |
| Note: This article should not be construed as legal advice or advice that is correct for your situation. It is the observations of the Author, a mere political science student. If you are unsure you should check with your local authorities. No doubt if you are an Aussie Sword Nut you’ve either bought or are looking to buy a sword from overseas. The lack of retailers and the very good dollar at the moment has made this a very attractive proposition. If you are an Aussie Sword Nut then you’ve also no doubt heard of, and probably got some concerns about customs, on top of customs is the state police and their issues with swords. This article will hopefully straighten out who is responsible for what with regards to Swords in Australia. I’m a political animal, so I can’t help but include a bit of a civics lesson, skip this if you want but *I think* it helps to explain the situation a bit better. As you probably know, prior to 1901 the Aussie continent was a series of British Colonies which operated completely independently of each other. Eventually the decision was made to merge and create the nation of Australia, though the colonies were sceptical and didn’t want to be consumed by some new federal government. Hence it was decided to create a restricted national level of government, which could only deal with issues that affected the national as a whole, while the bulk of the power remained with the states.* Naturally if your creating a new national system, one of the powers that should be handed over was the power over imports and customs. This is why today there are two completely different sets of laws to deal with regarding swords, because you have Customs, who operate at a federal level and separately the laws that govern all other aspects, which were left to the states. Customs are concerned with the actual act of importing the sword into the country, if you buy a sword from a local shop or buy it from some random guy of eBay who send it from somewhere in Australia then customs will never see the sword and will not give two hoots about it. This is one of the big advantages of buying from an Aussie as they get the thing into the country, though often you pay a premium for this, so what if you want to import it yourself? Well the good news is that at the time of writing Customs have not regulated the importation of conventional swords, hence if you buy a standard sword from overseas it should get into the country fine.... But... This only applies to conventional swords, that is, a standard Japanese katana or your run of the mill hand and a half sword. Things like some fantasy swords, swords that could be interpreted at concealed blades (e.g. the Hanwei Zatoichi and maybe even blades in shira-saya), short swords that could be perceived as daggers or knives and certain other categories have been restricted. It does not mean it is impossible to get these swords in, though you will need permits and that is outside the focus of this article. Though from what I’ve heard, if a blade errs on the side of being restricted then customs will probably consider it is. Although you have seen a blade for sale in the local swords-and-more doesn’t mean that it is ok from customs point of view to import, dealers know what they are doing with customs and often have permits and exemptions for certain items. The Hanwei Zatoichi is a classic example, many retailers in Australia carry it and will happily sell you one, however people have had theirs confiscated as being a concealed blade, so take care... Another consideration is the GST, apparently, if the declared value of the package is over $999 AUD inclusive of shipping then customs will hold the package until you can pay the customs fees AND the GST. I’ve personally never have been in this situation, but mates that have been have horror stories about trying to get all that sorted. When you consider that customs are in no way sword experts and wouldn’t know how to care for a sword this could have detrimental effects on the blade (rusted fingerprints anyone?) which is something to consider when deciding to purchase a sword and self-import. If the package is worth $999 or under then it should be smooth sailing with regards to GST and import duties, and if your blade isn’t a dodgy one, you shouldn’t have to worry about customs at all . Just because you can get a particular sword past customs does not mean that you are able to own it legally. Similarly, just because customs doesn’t like a particular sword doesn’t necessarily mean that ownership laws say you can’t own one. Though the later situation is probably a rarer occurrence. These situations occur because the laws that govern the ownership of swords are the power of the individual states, and at the time of writing there is no agreement between the states on laws relating to swords (unlike, for example, firearms where states got together and agreed on uniform laws), hence every state has a different set of laws that you will need to take a look at. Victoria is currently the most restrictive state with a police permit and tough storage requirements for swords. I understand that in most states the ownership of swords for collection or sporting use is reasonably unrestricted but you should check with the weapons branch of your state police for details specific to your state. The same paragraph I wrote about above about ‘conventional’ and other swords could be copied and pasted here and almost nothing would change. There is probably a difference between a conventional sword and something like a sword that could be perceived as being a concealed blade. The Hanwei Zatoichi, for example, might fall under a restricted category separate from a conventional sword. If you are unsure, ask at your local police station before you buy your sword what the situation is, I’ve always found the police to be pretty friendly, I gather they respect you for the fact you ask before you do something potentially illegal. I gather that if you are reading this then you’re of the sensible type, however too many incidents make me want to say that a sword is a weapon and should be treated as such. If the police see you with a sword in public they will quite rightly react negatively (for you anyway). If you are a martial artist ask then ask the police how you can safely and legally transport your sword to and from training. Swords are weapons, and if people cause too many problems then our ability to collect and/or use swords in martial arts will be made all the much harder with tougher ownership and possession laws. Useful Links: Customs – saying swords are not regulated (22 July 2007) http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4372 (State) Weapons Branch contact details (courtesy ACS) http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/firearmsContacts_051112.pdf *Yes, I know the idea that the Commonwealth is the less powerful and more restricted of the two levels of our system might seem, well, downright back-to-front when looking at it today, but I promise you the idea is true, it just hasn’t worked out like that. |
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