As Sydney shoppers start to return to the site of the stabbing attack which rocked the nation, there are renewed calls for authorities to consider legalising the possession of pepper spray for self-defence.

Industry figures have said there is also a need to clarify legislation in Western Australia, which is currently the only Australian state or territory where people can carry the non-lethal spray.

It comes after six people, including five women, were fatally stabbed in Bondi Junction Westfield before the man who committed the attack was shot dead by a police officer.

Pepper spray – also known as OC or Oleoresin Capsicum Spray – is classified as a “controlled weapon” in WA.

It is a category which also covers the possession of crossbows and swords.

According to the Weapons Act 1999, pepper spray can be carried for the purpose of lawful defence only when there are “reasonable grounds” a threat may arise.

But the circumstances which justify the possession of the substance are not clear cut, with the mere explanation of self-defence not recognised as a “lawful excuse”.

The penalties for breaching the act include a fine of up to $4,000 or a maximum of 12 months’ jail.

Murky laws

In one instance, a Perth budget motel owner was charged after he used pepper spray during a violent scuffle between one of his guests and another man in 2002.

He was not charged with assault or with the unlawful use of the spray, but with not having a lawful excuse to possess it.

He successfully appealed the conviction the following year.

Supreme Court Justice Christine Wheeler in explaining her decision used the example of carrying “the spray in the supermarket in the middle of the day” to describe a situation which would not justify possession.

More than two decades on, Carter Dickens Lawyers managing partner Jarrod Carter said that definition is now being questioned.

“As we know, the Bondi attacks occurred in the shopping mall,” he said.

Risk versus benefit

There have been a number of cases where pepper spray has been misused in Perth.

In November last year several students were questioned by police after the substance was dispensed through air vents at a secondary school.

Two teenage girls were arrested for spraying it into an IGA attendant’s face in January this year.

In 2020, a man was also charged for allegedly using it during a brawl at Crown casino, prompting the evacuation of a gaming area.

But Mr Carter argues the potential benefits outweigh the risks.

“It’s an unregistered thing that can be purchased just like a kitchen knife, just like a baseball bat and we don’t see big problems in Western Australia, with pepper spray being used as a weapon,” he says.

“But the problem for law abiding citizens (in WA), is they don’t know when and where you can carry it in those sorts of situations.”

Surge in demand

WA pepper spray retailer Jeff Rodwell said orders from his website URSafe have nearly quadrupled in the past week, inlcuding requests from other parts of the country which he has been forced to deny.

“I have had a hell lot of calls from over east,” he said.

“They think, ‘oh, it’s legal in Western Australia, why can’t we have it?'”

There was a push in 2018 for the federal government to allow pepper spray to be imported into the country, and for states and territories to legalise its use for self-defence.

The Australian Party’s Fraser Anning argued it would provide a non-lethal and easy-to-use means of protection.

But others claimed it would be widely weaponised, and Mr Anning’s motion failed 46-5.

‘Part of a toolkit’

Melbourne influencer and mother-of-two Jayde Howard is among those now calling for governments to reconsider.

In the wake of the Bondi stabbing attack, Ms Howard started an online petition pushing to allow women to carry the spray for protection, which has gained thousands of signatures.

“Pepper spray is not the answer to all issues when it comes to violence against women, but it is a tool in a big toolkit.”

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