Gel blasters to be defined as firearms in South Australia from tomorrow

South Australia is cracking down on imitation guns known as "gel blasters", declaring the toys to be defined as firearms from tomorrow.

Gel blasters are hyper-realistic toys that use a battery or a spring to fire a gel ball made up primarily of water.

From tomorrow, people who own a gel blaster in the state of South Australia will have two options: register the blaster and obtain a firearms licence within six months or surrender the blaster as part of a firearms amnesty.

READ MORE: 'Someone is going to die': Fears over replica 'toy' guns

South Australian police estimate that more than 62,000 blasters are currently owned within the state.

Superintendent Stephen Howard, officer in charge of SA Police's Firearms Branch, said the new regulations come after investigations into the use of the toys in the community.

"The firing mechanism in a gel blaster compresses air to fire a projectile and therefore meets the threshold test to be defined as a firearm," he said.

"A gel blaster can easily be mistaken for a real firearm, with potential to cause concern in the community and trigger a police response that could involve the use of police firearms, or other tactical options."

READ MORE: Crime syndicate had military rifle in Adelaide, police say

Gel blasters will be defined as firearms under the Firearms Act, meaning it will become an offence to possess an unregistered blaster or a blaster without a licence, and to sell gel blasters without the right licences.

From today, South Australian police are operating a firearms amnesty which means owners of the blasters can hand in their blasters without penalty.

As part of the amnesty, the gel blaster must:

- Have the magazine removed and empty

- Have the battery removed

- Have the stock removed if possible

- The gel blaster should also be carried in a bag or be covered so as not to raise concern en-route to your local police station

Concerned owners can find more about the amnesty here.

You can get up-to-date information from the Federal Government's Coronavirus Australia app, available on the App Store, Google Play and the Government's WhatsApp channel.

Beyond Blue's Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service is a 24/7 service free of charge to all Australians. Visit the site here or call 1800512348

For coronavirus breaking news alerts and livestreams straight to your smartphone sign up to the 9News app and set notifications to on at the App Store or Google Play.