Police in Melbourne have detained six people, including five teens, after a fight involving machetes broke out at the city’s Flinders Street Station.
The incident took place at around 10pm on Saturday when a a violent confrontation involving around 10 individuals erupted in the station’s concourse, with several using machetes.
Officers rushed to the scene and two people were arrested within the station precinct, while another four were held after they boarded a train following the incident. The police also located and seized multiple machetes.
According to the police, a 17-year-old boy was injured and suffered lacerations to his arm. He was taken to hospital where he received treatment.
One 22-year-old man was charged with affray, recklessly causing injury, assault with a weapon and possessing a prohibited weapon, and granted bail. He was ordered to appear before Melbourne Magistrate’s court on 27 November.
The remaining five who were detained included teens aged 13, 14, 15 and two 16-year-olds. They were released pending further enquiry.
Following the incident, Werribee-bound trains were cancelled, a Metro Trains spokesperson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
An eye witness named Mamoom Ahmed, who was working at a pizza outlet at the station, said: “It was scary at first. But when we saw the police around here, we felt safe.“
Another commuter said that the incident was worrying and she wants stronger action against youth crime. “It’s horrifying because I always felt quite safe coming into Flinders Street,” she told ABC News.
The Australian state of Victoria outlawed machetes last year in a bid to crack down on knife crime.
“There’s no place for machetes …on our streets,” premier Jacinta Allan said in a post on X at the time. “That’s why I’ve announced Australia’s first machete ban here in Victoria”.
Those caught carrying machetes without an exemption face up to two years in jail or a US$30,000 fine.
Following Saturday’s incident the Victorian government defended the effectiveness of its machete ban, with government minister Harriet Shing saying changes to bail laws, a machete ban, new post-and-boast laws and the introduction of a violence reduction unit have led to a drop in crime.
“What we are doing is working,” she told reporters on Sunday. “There’s always more work to do, but we do know that the work that police are doing is having an impact, that the machete ban is having an impact.”
Since 2025, 18,000 weapons have been surrendered or seized, while 17,000 machetes were taken off the shelves.
However, the state’s opposition claims the continued attacks show the laws lack “consequences”.
“You’ve got teenagers that are literally putting the finger at the government because they know there’s no consequences,” said David Southwick of the Victorian Liberal Party.
“Victorians want [a] response, they want consequences, and it’s clear that the machete policies of the government simply have not worked.”
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