Pocket Knife → Australia

Ordinary folding knives are not a prohibited import. Automatic, butterfly and concealed-blade knives need written import permission.

Details

Australia restricts certain types of knives. A manual folding pocket knife with a single-edged metal blade is not listed in Schedule 13 of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956, so it is not a prohibited import, and the Schedule sets no blade-length limit for it. Flick knives and other automatic knives, and goods with a concealed blade, are listed there and cannot be imported without written permission. Whether a manual folding knife locks open makes no difference under Schedule 13. State laws vary. All knives must be in checked luggage for flights. Enforcement in Australia carries fines from AUD 444 to AUD 2,664 under Customs Act 1901 s.234; Biosecurity Act 2015 s.535 (ordinary personal cases are handled as civil infringements). Leaving Australia with pocket knife is a separate question — allowed: Pocket knives may be exported from Australia in checked baggage; carry laws at the destination govern what you may do with them on arrival.

Quantity limit

Personal use

Legal reference

Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956

Leaving with this item

Pocket knives may be exported from Australia in checked baggage; carry laws at the destination govern what you may do with them on arrival.

Practical advice

A plain manual folding knife or Swiss Army knife packed in checked baggage is the low-risk choice. Leave automatic, assisted-opening, butterfly, push, trench, throwing and concealed-blade knives at home: each is listed in Schedule 13 and can be seized if it arrives without written import permission. What you may carry in public after arrival is set by state and territory law, not by customs.

Customs authority

Australian Border Force (ABF) · https://www.abf.gov.au