Police have shot six people wielding gel blasters in Queensland in the past six years.
It's become a national problem — they look identical to handguns, shotguns, and rifles, making it hard even for officers to tell the difference between a toy and a real gun.
The Queensland government is under pressure to ban gel blasters. (ABC North Queensland: Nathalie Fernbach)
Gel blasters themselves don't pose a physical risk, but police say they can be a threat if misused.
"Gel blasters have evolved over a number of years, and they now mimic or resemble operational firearms," said Detective Inspector Brad Phelps from Queensland's Crime and Intelligence Command Drug Squad.
"It's almost impossible to tell a gel blaster from a traditional firearm until you get to hold it and examine it."
Detective Inspector Brad Phelps says gel blasters have evolved to look more and more like firearms. (ABC News: Curtis Rodda)
Gel blasters are popular with children and sport groups, but police still find them in the hands of criminals.
"Those incidents vary from road rage incidents to armed robbery to domestic violence, so there is a whole spectrum of incidents that police respond to where offenders have accessed or used a gel blaster," Detective Inspector Phelps said.
"It's a complex and difficult environment for frontline police to try and discern or distinguish between a gel blaster and a standard firearm and the threat it poses."
What are the rules around gel blasters?
Gel blasters are legal in Queensland, and you don't need a firearm licence to own one.
They shoot water-filled gel pellets and are often used in games where players navigate outdoor obstacle courses — much like paintball.
They're banned in Western Australia, with a maximum penalty of three years in prison for possession.
In every other state and territory, gel blasters are regulated like other firearms, requiring owners to have a licence, store them as they would any other firearm, and only use them at licensed venues.
Queensland brought in tighter rules for gel blaster owners in February 2021, making it an offence to carry an unconcealed gel blaster in public or to point it at someone.
University of Queensland criminologist Suzanna Fay said it's difficult to tell if Queensland's approach is working.
Suzanna Fay says people's fear about gel blasters could be part of broader concerns around crime. (ABC News: Nickoles Coleman )
"That's because the data that we have doesn't really help us distinguish between a gel blaster incident and an incident with another restricted item or weapon," she said.
"It doesn't isolate gel blaster incidents in relation to any other form of incident, and it also doesn't take into account basic things like population growth."
Calls for Queensland to ban gel blasters outright
There's now pressure on the Queensland government to go a step further and ban them outright.
"We are having those discussions with police at the moment and whether that ends up being a ban or further restrictions or a change to the definition," Police Minister Dan Purdie said.
"There are stakeholders that need to be addressed, there needs to be consultation, and we will do that."
Retailer Daniel Hennessy holds gel balls used in blasters for skirmish-style games. (ABC News: Dea Clark)
The Queensland Police Union (QPU) believes the current regulations are working and doesn't support law changes.
"We don't want to find ourselves in a position where we are over-regulating to such a point that kids cannot even play in the park with toy guns anymore," QPU president Shane Prior said.
"We have misuse provisions, and we support those."
Mr Prior acknowledged gel blasters pose a safety risk because of how much they look like a real gun.
"I know police officers that use their firearm when presented with an edged weapon or actual firearm, and when they take someone's life, that is a harrowing process for that officer," he said.
"I can only imagine how that officer would feel if it worked out that they had shot someone because it was a gel blaster."
Gel blasters have been banned in Western Australia since 2021. (ABC News: Eliza Laschon )
'It gets kids off a video game consol'
Gel blaster retailer and Airsoft Gelball Paintball Association of Australia secretary Scott Mason said thousands of Queenslanders have taken the fake firearms up for sport.
"We have defence, police, families doing it for physical fitness and fun because it gets kids off a video game consol," he said.
"It's like tattoos, more people actually have a gel blaster than freely admit to it because of the stigma."
Gel blaster retailer Scott Mason says gel blasters are a way to get kids off video consoles. (Supplied)
Ms Fay said people's fear of gel blasters was likely linked to concerns about crime.
"In Queensland, we have had a number of highly publicised and horrific incidents of youth crime over the last few years and it's led to a perception that youth crime is out of control," she said.
Mr Mason said the gel blaster community regularly talks to police and the state government and is constantly reviewing safety measures.
Mr Purdie said it's important to get the balance right.
"You've got to make sure the laws target people who use them unlawfully and are going to be a danger in the community and not impose a restriction on law-abiding people."
"But we also to make sure that police have the laws and resources to protect themselves in the community."
