Posted December 09, 2019 06:51:50

Photo: Queensland Police are reminding consumers about the laws around gel blasters ahead of Christmas. (ABC North Queensland: Nathalie Fernbach)

Queensland Police are advising those giving gel blasters as gifts this Christmas to get up to speed on the regulations surrounding the projectile toys.

Gel blasters are realistic-looking toy guns that shoot water-absorbing gel balls.

The blasters are legal in Queensland and South Australia but banned in all other Australian states.

Townsville police's Sergeant Julie Cooke said while it was not an offence to own a gel blaster in Queensland, there were rules around the way it was handled during transport.

"When possessing the gel blaster in a public place the item must be carried in a way that is not visible to the public," she said.

"Obviously, we don't want people carrying them down the street because they look so real."

Retailer calls for stricter law enforcement

A North Queensland primary school was put into lockdown earlier this year after two men with gel blasters were spotted shooting outside the Wulguru State School.

Photo: Gel blasters can look very realistic; the face masks are a way to make necessary protective gear "look cool" said retailer Tegan Maynard. (ABC North Queensland: Nathalie Fernbach)

In December 2018, replica rifle gel blasters used to fire upon people in a Townsville park resulted in two men being charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and dangerous conduct with a weapon.

Tegan Maynard of One Shot Gel Blasters said gel blaster sports were similar to paintball but the gel pellets do not hurt as much as paintballs do.

She said for those who were not familiar with the sport, the realism of the gel blasters could be surprising.

"These things do look very realistic a lot of the time, especially if you don't know about them. They can be quite scary," Ms Maynard said.

In Queensland, the penalty for carrying an unconcealed gel blaster in public is up to two years imprisonment.

The penalty for pointing and firing a gel blaster at another person without their permission is up to seven years imprisonment

Photo: The ammunition for the blasters are tiny water-absorbing balls which turn to a gel sphere once soaked in water. (ABC North Queensland: Dwayne Wyles)

One Shot's co-owner Andrew Stark said he would like tougher penalties imposed on those using the devices illegally.

"We have laws, we know what they are, we are supposed to follow them, [but] we feel like the punishments aren't hard enough," he said.

"We would like to see the laws implemented much harder."

Christmas blaster sales booming

Ms Maynard said sales of the gel blaster toys had doubled in the lead up to Christmas.

Photo: The Queensland Police's STOP and think poster must be displayed by retailers selling gel blasters. (Supplied: Queensland Police)

"We can't keep people away," Ms Maynard said.

"It is very hyped this year as well — it's what's trending [and] it has been absolutely crazy."

Retailers of the blasters are required to display at least one Queensland Police STOP campaign poster on their premises.

The poster outlines the regulations around the ownership and use of a gel blaster and provide information about offences and penalties related to the illegal use of the 'toy'.

Ms Maynard said they also included a copy of the regulations with each blaster sold.

"We also encourage people to pop a sign up on their fence saying 'gel blasters in use', just to save that phone call from the neighbour who sees somebody in the backyard with what looks like a gun," she said.

Topics: games, law-crime-and-justice, retail, lifestyle-and-leisure, police, townsville-4810, sa, qld