Laws requiring retailers to safely store and secure knives will come into effect at the start of next month, as part of the state’s rollout out of the nation’s toughest knife laws.

Under the Government’s nation leading laws that passed Parliament last year, retailers will be required to either securely store or tether any dangerous knives for sale that are kept in publicly accessible areas from 1 July 2026.

In addition, retailers will be required to display signs informing shoppers that the sale of knives to minors under 18 years of age is prohibited by law.

Exemptions to the secure storage requirements for retailers will apply in cases where the knives being sold don’t actually pose a threat - such as disposable knives used for the consumption of food, butter knives or similar knives sold in a cutlery set that do not have a sharp point, as well as razor blades that are permanently enclosed in a cartridge.

The reforms formed part of the third phase of the Government’s nation leading knife law package, building on earlier law changes which included:

• stronger search powers for police at declared places like shopping centres and public transport hubs;
• reclassifying swords and machetes as prohibited weapons where, as a result, penalties of up to $20,000 or 2 years imprisonment now apply for possession of a prohibited sword or machete;
• Banning children under 18 from buying dangerous knives under any circumstances, with the new age of purchase raised from 16 years old.

As part of the earlier-stage knife law reforms, prior to the banning of machetes and swords a 3 month surrender period commenced on 1 July 2025, with South Australians able to anonymously surrender dangerous weapons to SAPOL.

3,508 weapons were surrendered across South Australian police stations between 1 July and 30 September 2025. This included batons, bayonets, nunchuckus, star knives/ninja stars and even a morning star - a medieval weapon consisting of a shaft with a spiked ball attached.

1,653 machetes and 1,170 swords were surrendered to police totalling 2,823, or 80 per cent of all weapons surrendered during the three-month period.

While the three-month anonymous surrender period ended last year, anyone with dangerous weapons is still able to surrender them safely to their local police station (outside the CBD) but will now be required to provide SAPOL with their name and address.