Police forces across Australia are using an expanding arsenal of so-called 'less-lethal' weapons — including projectile launchers, Tasers, chemical irritants and stinger grenades — with minimal public transparency and virtually no nationally enforced standards, a Guardian investigation has revealed. The nine-month investigation found that police in every state and territory declined to provide basic information about the manufacturers and models of their less-lethal weapons, with most citing 'operational safety' concerns. In Victoria, police have refused to publicly provide the make and model of their rubber bullets and other weapons even to the state's parliamentarians due to 'operational and community safety considerations.'
'All of these weapons can kill people,' said Dr Rohini Haar, a medical adviser at Physicians for Human Rights who has researched the health impacts of less-lethal munitions on protesters around the world. Haar said there is 'almost zero' regulation globally of the industry that produces these weapons. 'They can be very nasty things,' added Scott Reynhout, a weapons researcher at Physicians for Human Rights.
Projectiles: Rubber Bullets and 'Foam Baton Rounds'
Police in Australia have access to weapons that fire a variety of 'bullet-like missiles', including what are known as foam baton or bean bag rounds, designed 'to deter conduct through the pain of impact.' While foam and sponge baton rounds might sound benign, one expert told Guardian Australia they are 'functionally rubber bullets' due to their weight and speed when fired, delivering what manufacturer Combined Systems calls 'blunt trauma effect.' In Victoria, police have been using these rounds against protesters since at least 2021 — leading to injuries and multiple civil cases, two of which have been settled. One case settled in April was brought by Chris Dahl, who alleged he was shot with a foam baton round at a September 2021 protest, leaving a gaping wound that required stitches in his lower back. The settlement terms are confidential.
At least three people died in NSW and Victoria within four months of one another in 2023 after being shot with less-lethal projectiles and stun guns at their homes. Inquest findings into the deaths are yet to be delivered. A review of injuries caused by less-lethal weapons in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd found that much of the damage was to the head, neck or face — 16 patients had traumatic brain injuries. After tracking injuries globally to the head and eyes caused by these projectiles, Haar has concluded there is no role for projectiles in crowd control: they are dangerous when used at close range and 'almost impossible to aim from far away.'
Chemical Irritants: OC Spray on the Rise
Oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray — a highly concentrated form of a compound in chilli peppers — has become a routine tool for Australian police at protests. At a protest outside Sydney Town Hall in February, some NSW police officers were seen clutching red canisters of Defense Technology OC spray, a brand linked to US military and police equipment manufacturer Safariland. In Melbourne, Victoria police use Sabre products, including the large MK9 canister. According to Victorian data obtained by the Police Accountability Project, OC spray was discharged in various forms 9,188 times between mid-2018 and 2023. From November 2025, Victoria police signed a $1.5 million contract for OC products with Australian Defence Apparel, which is also an OC spray supplier for Queensland police, where tender records show it has made more than $400,000 in contracts since 2021.
Human rights advocates say OC spray is increasingly 'slipping down the use of force continuum.' 'When OC spray was introduced in Australia, it was framed as an alternative to lethal force such as firearms,' said Emma Ryan, a criminologist at Deakin University. 'Now we see it slipping down the use of force continuum to now being used for crowd dispersal at protests.' A report from the Australian Democracy Network has tracked the increasing use of OC spray at protests. In December 2025, a judge found that a protester, Jordan Brown, had been subject to unlawful battery through police use of OC spray and awarded him $54,000 in damages. 'It just felt like razor blades in my eyes,' Brown told the court.
Stinger Grenades and Distraction Devices
Since 2018, Victoria police have spent at least $1.2 million on contracts for 'distraction devices', including stinger grenades designed to emit extreme sound, light and pressure. Scout (a pseudonym) had never heard of stinger grenades before one exploded in front of them during a protest in Melbourne in October 2025. Seven months later, Scout says it appears they will have lifelong scars on their legs, and they continue to experience phantom pain. 'In the direct aftermath, the two months afterwards, I was feeling quite shaken,' Scout said. 'Lots of little things would set me off. Loud noises would make me cry.' Scout complained to Victoria police about the use of the stinger grenade, but an internal investigation found the 'deployment' was 'appropriate and was in accordance with law, policy and accepted Victoria Police practice.'
Dr Haar says devices like flashbangs and stingers can cause blast injuries and burns. 'They were made by the military for military use,' she said. 'There is no data out there that they can be safely used in protest settings against unarmed civilians.' Helen Close, a senior researcher at the Omega Research Foundation, says stinger grenades shouldn't be used in the policing of protests 'due to the fact they are inaccurate and can cause severe injuries — especially to the eyes.' Michelle Reynolds, a director of the Police Accountability Project at Inner Melbourne Community Legal, questions whether such devices are actually effective for crowd control. 'They're not a good tool for disbursement of a crowd because they create chaos. It actually creates a really unsafe environment,' she said. 'So who's making the decision that this is appropriate for protest situations?'
Tasers: Soaring Use and Calls for Oversight
Taser use by Australian police has surged dramatically. In NSW, the number of times Tasers are drawn or deployed has more than doubled in five years — from 569 times in 2020-21 to 1,403 by 2024-25. In Victoria, the government announced a $214 million rollout of conducted energy devices in 2023. According to data obtained by the Police Accountability Project, tasers caused injuries to 161 people between 2018 and 2023 and were used on 149 people aged under 18, including six aged under 12. In 2024-25 in NSW, tasers were drawn or deployed 57% of the time against people who identified as Indigenous in at least one interaction with police.
Tasers have come under intense scrutiny following a series of deaths. The death of 95-year-old Clare Nowland in 2023, who was tasered by NSW police at a nursing home, led to the manslaughter conviction of Senior Constable Kristian White in 2024. More recently, on June 8, 2026, a 44-year-old man died in Clare, South Australia, after police deployed a Taser that officers described as 'ineffective.' Assistant Commissioner David O'Donovan said the Taser was 'activated, but it was ineffective,' declining to specify how many times it was fired. The man became unresponsive during the arrest and died at the scene despite first aid from officers and paramedics. South Australia Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, after reviewing body-worn video footage, defended the officers' actions, stating they 'acted appropriately and within general orders.' He said the responding officers 'were confronted by an agitated man behaving in a threatening and aggressive manner' who was also threatening an elderly couple. The incident is subject to a police standards investigation and will be prepared for the state coroner.
Michelle Reynolds of Inner Melbourne Community Legal called for the introduction of an independent Police Ombudsman in Victoria to investigate police misconduct. 'Police are being granted greater powers and weaponry but are avoiding full accountability and scrutiny because Victoria has no effective independent police monitoring and oversight body,' she said. In the ACT, minimal detail is provided on Taser use, while other states provide no public reporting at all.
How Police Obscure Their Use of Force
The Guardian investigation found that Australian police forces go to great lengths to avoid transparency around less-lethal weapons. In Victoria, police sought suppression orders during coronial inquests that bar media from describing any details of weaponry. In some states, details about Tasers have been suppressed during inquests, including training materials given to officers. Contracts worth millions of dollars for these weapons are often made with third-party distributors rather than directly with manufacturers, obscuring what police have access to. Guardian Australia approached every police force in the country for a list of the manufacturer and model of their less-lethal weapons — all declined to provide one, with most citing operational safety.
Legal claims against police for excessive use of force at protests are on the rise, lawyers say, but there is no public collection of this data. In 2024-25, NSW police received 478 civil claims for torts including assault, battery and false imprisonment, and paid out $40.26 million including damages and costs. Oversight bodies across the country have criticised 'widespread inconsistencies' in how police record use of force. Jeremy King, a lawyer who frequently represents clients in police misconduct cases, estimates that of the 10 to 15 police-related inquiries his firm receives every week, at least half relate to less-lethal weapons — most often OC spray and Tasers. 'It takes a long time for this information to get out to the public, and police deliberately hide the detail of these weapons behind closed doors,' King said.
Activist Logan, from Melbourne Activist Legal Support, says there has been a normalization of OC spray, explosives and projectiles at protests in Victoria — his group wants these weapons banned for crowd control. 'They're bringing their kids along and seeing these police fully kitted up with guns and grenades and having to explain what's going on,' Logan said. 'This is the new normal.'
