Victoria Police prohibit and control weapons within Victoria. However, while props for costume role playing (Cosplay) are permitted under Victorian Law, there is a possibility that these props may be considered dangerous articles and pose a potential risk to our attendees. As the organizers of the Melbourne Anime Festival (Manifest), we have a duty of care to our attendees. To ensure their safety, Manifest requires that the following rules be adhered to by all attendees.
- Persons who breach these requirements may be expelled from Manifest. This is at the discretion of the management of the event. Manifest will not tolerate persons who breach these rules as it will be considered as a breach of the Terms and Conditions of entry. Manifest also reserves the right to hand a person over to Victoria Police if they believe a legal offence has been committed.
- Victorian Law applies. All attendees must adhere to all laws and statutes under the Victorian and Australian Governments. In any case where this or any other Manifest Policy conflicts with Victorian and/or Australian Law, the relevant Victorian and/or Australian Law shall apply.
- No weapons shall be brought to Manifest by any person. This includes prohibited weapons, controlled weapons and dangerous articles as defined by Victoria Police. A database of these weapons can be found on the Victoria Police Website.
- Please specifically note that swords are prohibited weapons in Victoria, as are any form of ninja weapon and all replica firearms. If a weapon is brought to Manifest, Manifest reserves the right to hand it over to police in the interest of community safety.
- For the purposes of Manifest, all weapons permits shall be considered void. Due to not having the correct resources available to Manifest to verify such exemptions, we will not consider any exemptions that have been granted to individuals and/or groups for items mentioned in the above point. Exemptions will only be recognised for Law Enforcement and Manifest Security.
- Any prop containing exposed metal or a sharpened edge shall be assumed a dangerous article. This is because metal hurts more than any other material when contact is made and sharpened edges draw blood regardless of what they are constructed of. The risks posed are too high in a crowded environment such as Manifest and Manifest recommends the construction of props from alternative materials. Thus any prop containing exposed metal or sharp edges will be considered a risk to attendees and banned at Manifest. Exceptions may be made to this rule, but attendees are advised to seek this prior to Manifest.
- Any prop that is unwieldly shall be considered a potentially dangerous article. Manifest defines “unwieldly” as being beyond the holder’s ability to easily control. This may be if the prop is constructed to be too heavy and beyond the strength of the bearer to properly hold, or if the prop is too large to prevent it from impacting upon other attendees. Such potentially dangerous articles must be stored in the cloak room and access shall only be granted in special circumstances, such as for participation in the Cosplay competition.
- Props rules apply to elaborate costumes. Some costumes can be constructed to resemble body armor or other large and elaborate suits. Others may also contain built-in components that resemble weapons. Such costumes shall be considered within these rules as if they were regular props.
- All props must be submitted to the cloak room for inspection upon arrival at Manifest. This is to ensure that any and all props brought to Manifest comply with these rules and do not pose a risk to Manifest staff and/or attendees. In the event that a prop breaching these rules is identified, the cloak room shall be entitled to take appropriate action including, but not limited to, confiscation of the prop for the duration of the event, requiring the attendee to take the prop off site, or informing the relevant authorities.
- Props must be turned over to the Cloak Room on request. This is to protect our attendees against any mishap a potentially dangerous article may cause. If you are registered for the Cosplay Competition, you will be granted access to your prop for the period of the pre-judging session and Cosplay presentation where appropriate. In addition to the Cloak Room warden, any member of Manifest Staff or Security may make this request.
- Props exempt from being stored must display their exemption identifier at all times. This is to allow staff to easily identify if your prop has been inspected. To ensure the effectiveness of these identifiers, their exact nature shall not be released and shall change for each day of the convention.
- Props that resemble firearms must have a band of bright-coloured paint or tape around the nozzle. This is to indicate to any police officer or member of security that the prop is a toy. If in any doubt, Victoria Police will assume any firearm they see is real and act accordingly.
These rules are a duplicate of the terms & conditions of sale and entry, and as such these are subject to variation, in which becomes in effect when posted on the website in this page and in the terms & conditions of sale and entry.
