Gun-Formers (imitation weapons) laws and requirements for Australia

[aching878]

What a pain in the ass!

I can imagine walking into a dealer and telling them why I need their services, only to be greeted with this:



Might as well just get a real gun.

Lol

I'm sure they would had many similar requests with all sorts of replicas or imitations since all have to go via same process

But def would be laughing at you and not with you tho :-P

[Batfan007]

They can't even uniform driving laws across the state.

That's why in WA you can drive around with a whole bootful of megatrons and laugh like a maniac.

I had not considered them to be an issue when I initially imported them, and did not look deeply into the issue surrounding MP-05 as I was never interested. I only own one of these figs (the other was part of a group import for a friend), but will look into obtaining a permit.

I am still interested to know if anyone else encountered issues with their gun-formers.

Can anyone tell me, do megatrons (of any variety that turn into a gun, not just the g1) still get seized if their default mode sealed in box is bot mode?

I mean surely they rely on the x-ray and don't just randomly waste time ripping open boxes on the chance that maybe a toy might be in there that MIGHT turn into a thing that resembles a gun.
I mean does anyone have any insight into how the customs etc screens stuff.

[Omega Metro]

So would someone from W.A find it less riskier buying a Megatron from Asia (Hong Kong/Japan) where it would only hit customs in W.A and not N.S.W (where I would run the risk of them confiscating it) if it was coming the other way from the U.S? I want to buy a gunformer but worried it's gonna get confiscated.

[drifand]

So would someone from W.A find it less riskier buying a Megatron from Asia (Hong Kong/Japan) where it would only hit customs in W.A and not N.S.W (where I would run the risk of them confiscating it) if it was coming the other way from the U.S? I want to buy a gunformer but worried it's gonna get confiscated.

I just bought a Gundam from China , it went to Melbourne before it reaches wa .
I bought stuff from Singapore and believe it or not it went to Melbourne instead of straight to Perth .

So answer is no, just apply the permit and wait, you may not get stop, you might.

[Ralph Wiggum]

So would someone from W.A find it less riskier buying a Megatron from Asia (Hong Kong/Japan) where it would only hit customs in W.A and not N.S.W (where I would run the risk of them confiscating it) if it was coming the other way from the U.S? I want to buy a gunformer but worried it's gonna get confiscated.

As a fellow sandgroper I can attest that it's easy to get a B709 permit from Police, so truth be told you shouldn't really be worried that it's gonna be confiscated.

And as Drifand said, it really is anyone's guess how your package arrives from overseas. I recently bought a leather journal from Poland and it went the long way through Melbourne :/

[GoktimusPrime]

Can anyone tell me, do megatrons (of any variety that turn into a gun, not just the g1) still get seized if their default mode sealed in box is bot mode?

Yes. They've been seizing robot-moded Megatrons since 2007! The entire reason why laws were reformed to allow the legal ownership of Gunformers starting in 2007 was because Customs got wise and were confiscating and destroying Gunformers that were in robot mode (e.g. MP5 Megatron).

So would someone from W.A find it less riskier buying a Megatron from Asia (Hong Kong/Japan) where it would only hit customs in W.A and not N.S.W (where I would run the risk of them confiscating it) if it was coming the other way from the U.S? I want to buy a gunformer but worried it's gonna get confiscated.

Customs is a Federal body, not state. So anyone in Australia runs an equal amount of risk of having the toy be detected and seized. State law kicks in when it comes to being able to retrieve and maintain ownership of the toy.

So if you're in WA you basically fill out a form that confirms that you're a WA resident then go and pick up the toy. It's ridiculously easy for you guys because imitation firearms aren't prohibited in WA. SA is practically the same. For those of us in other states it's trickier.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Testing out whether customs can pick up my gunformer in bot mode on their scanners would be interesting, but not something I'd like to try out. I don't want to end up as another one of those befuddled people on Border Security

I've travelled to Singapore/Hong Kong quite a few times (family) and its been a long time since I've had my bags searched or x-rayed. Maybe being upfront and honest about all my declarations (plus having an Australian passport) in the past puts me in the 'low risk' category and I just get told to move along.

[bakakun]

Victorian here. I'm a bit confused regarding the "Chief Commissioner of Police Approval Letter".

I understand you need to renew it every 3 years to purchase and sell, but would you need to keep renewing every 3 years if you are only keeping the one gun Transformer for personal ownership (play/display)? If so then that seems like a lot of money.

[Borgeman]

I think its safe to say that basically no one in Victoria has any permit - the Police dept played hardball from day 1, and with how many hurdles there are to jump through, id say no one in vic owns a g1/mp megs legally

Except of course for anyone who is also a genuine gun collector and tf fan

[griffin]

Testing out whether customs can pick up my gunformer in bot mode on their scanners would be interesting, but not something I'd like to try out. I don't want to end up as another one of those befuddled people on Border Security

I've travelled to Singapore/Hong Kong quite a few times (family) and its been a long time since I've had my bags searched or x-rayed. Maybe being upfront and honest about all my declarations (plus having an Australian passport) in the past puts me in the 'low risk' category and I just get told to move along.

As long as you declare it, you can't get into trouble for it... just like if you had food, drugs or real weapons in your luggage.
If you go with the Federal Import form filled out (if you were planning to get a Megatron toy), you will be allowed to take it with you if you are in WA and arriving in Perth first. If you arrive on the East Coast first and travel to WA by a domestic flight, then you will have it confiscated until you can get a transit permit, if that state requires one.
If you arrive at Perth without the Federal Import form, Customs will hold the toy (for a few weeks) until you come back with one... provided you declared it to them before they find it.

Can anyone tell me, do megatrons (of any variety that turn into a gun, not just the g1) still get seized if their default mode sealed in box is bot mode?
I mean surely they rely on the x-ray and don't just randomly waste time ripping open boxes on the chance that maybe a toy might be in there that MIGHT turn into a thing that resembles a gun.
I mean does anyone have any insight into how the customs etc screens stuff.

Customs know what to look for with certain prohibited items, and since MP Megatron was packaged in robot mode, it's shape was something they were trained to look out for... and even since 2007, as they found and held my Gold MP Megatron, which was only just a couple years ago... and the package wasn't even opened to see what was inside.
That process at the end of 2014, to retrieve that toy from Customs, was what prompted me to research the process for all states of Australia and post up this topic.

Victorian here. I'm a bit confused regarding the "Chief Commissioner of Police Approval Letter".

I understand you need to renew it every 3 years to purchase and sell, but would you need to keep renewing every 3 years if you are only keeping the one gun Transformer for personal ownership (play/display)? If so then that seems like a lot of money.

Unfortunately, you would need to renew it every 3 years, IF you wanted to legally own one of the Megatron toys in the first posting.
Victoria and NSW look to be the states that require the most effort and cost to legally own those toys, but at least there is a process in place to legally own them at all. It's possible to have them in your home without a permit and never have a problem, but if you ever decide to sell the toy, or your house gets robbed and reported to the police, or ever gets raided by the police, you could face severe weapons charges.
The risk is minimal, and I don't know if any member here even has one, but none of us here would risk telling members to NOT worry about the permits just because they are toys, as we would be soliciting an offence, and face prosecution as well. It is entirely your decision.

Aside from a couple of stricter states, we probably have it pretty good in Australia at the moment for legal ownership of Gen1 & MP Megatron. Importing them is a free process that just requires filling out a form, and most states allow free ownership in private homes (not to be taken out in public).

Considering that it just takes a few incidents highlighted by the media of robberies with fake/imitation weapons, politicians could tighten the laws at any time, to have them require licensing like real firearms. (you can cause the same amount of panic and fear from a fake weapon, and commit the same crimes, as most don't fire their real guns... so it is no different to taking an unloaded real weapon to a robbery)