Are you carrying and using a Prohibited Weapon?

Under Victorian legislation, the Control of Weapons Regulations 2000 (17 December 2000), any ‘daylight’ lasers stronger than 1mW became a ‘Prohibited Weapon.   The Schedule 2 to these regulations defines what is a prohibited weapon and states “Regulation 6 – 33.    A hand-held battery-operated article commonly known as a “laser pointer” designed or adapted to emit a laser beam with an accessible emission limit of greater than 1 mW.”
The Control of Weapons Act 1990 (1 January 2010) Section 5 – Prohibited weapons states that
“(1) A person must not—
(a) bring into Victoria; or  (b) cause to be brought into or sent into Victoria; or(c) manufacture, sell or purchase; or (d) display or advertise for sale; or (e) possess, use or carry—a prohibited weapon without an exemption under section 8B or an approval under section 8C.”  The penalty for this offense is 240 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years.
That’s the bad news!!  The good news is that you can apply for a permit to continue your ‘lawful’ use of these Lasers by applying for a permit the same as you would for a firearm.  You can apply for a permit to use a ‘daylight’ laser from Victoria Police and the forms are available online from the Victoria Police web site.
This will cost you approximately $150 if you do not already hold a Firearms License.   If you have any issue with accessing or the content of these applications, please email licensingservices@police.vic.gov.au.
The act is available at the Victorian Law Library and search on ‘Control of Weapons Regulations 2000’.
If you have one of these Daylight green or red lasers and you don’t have a permit, you can:

• Continue to use it without a permit and face a hefty fine or 2 years in jail;
• Not use it anymore (but don’t sell it or give it away)
• Apply for a permit through Victoria Police.

Click to download factsheet-Daylight Lasers