Gun laws in Australia are mainly the jurisdiction of Australian states and territories, but were largely aligned in 1996 by the National Firearms Agreement.
A person must have a firearm licence to possess or use a firearm. Licence holders must demonstrate a "genuine reason" (which does not include self-defence) for holding a firearm licence and must not be a "prohibited person".(1)
Other weapons
Laws concerning other weapons vary depending on the states and territories but generally speaking, it is illegal to purchase, carry or use ANYTHING specifically intended for self defence. Hence, even items like pepper spray, tasers and stun guns are illegal.(2) Regarding pepper spray, there looks to be one exception. While it's illegal to bring it into Australia, with import permits only issued for police or government use, Western Australia is the one state where it's legal to carry pepper spray. There it is considered a' controlled weapon' similar to crossbows and swords. As such, it can be carried if you have reasonable grounds to do so. Unfortunately, determining what reasonable grounds are is ambiguous.(4)
Self Defense
The approach generally adopted in Australia differs significantly from the “stand your ground” approach to self-defence that has been influential in the US. “Stand your ground” generally encourages “self-help” by removing any requirement of retreat. It permits a person who is threatened or attacked to stand their ground and claim self-defence even where an avenue of retreat or other means of avoiding the conflict was safely available.Approaches to self-defence in Australia still tend to emphasise reasonable necessity and discourage vigilantism. Police advise Australian homeowners against keeping weapons for protection and instruct them to immediately contact police if they suspect an intruder is in their home.(3)
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