Wyndham will be home to a machete disposal bin as part of a two-month amnesty period during which people are being urged to safely dispose of the weapon.
The safe disposal bin will be located at Werribee Police Station, along with other police stations throughout Melbourne’s north west from September 1 to November 30.
The bins will be accessible 24-7 and will be roughly 900 millimetres by 1200 millimetres in size, with a 70 millimetre concrete base to ensure they are secure and have feet to allow for safe removal.
The amnesty period will coincide with a statewide machete ban which will make owning, carrying, using, buying, or selling a machete without a valid exemption or approval a criminal offence from September 1.
During the amnesty period, people can hand in a machete without penalty.
Anyone who fails to do so could face up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of more than $47,000.
Agricultural workers who use machetes as part of their job and machetes that are used in a traditional, historical, or cultural capacity will be exempted.
Anyone covered by an exemption must comply with strict conditions and be able to demonstrate eligibility if asked by police.
The government introduced an interim sales ban on machetes in May in response to a knife attack at Northland Shopping Centre.
Details: vic.gov.au/machete-amnesty.
