Aussies demand urgent law change calling for the right to use force to defend their homes - so is it a good idea?
- Thousands of Aussies call for Castle Law
- It comes as rise in break ins nationwide
- READ MORE: I'm sick of home invasions in Victoria... There's a clear solution
Australians are clamouring for the right to use force to protect themselves as property owners fear they will be the next victim of a home invasion.
As of Wednesday, there are 17 petitions with a total of more than 50,000 supporters calling for the introduction of 'Castle Law'.
Also known as 'Castle Doctrine', the UK law allows citizens to use 'reasonable force' to protect themselves or others if a crime is taking place inside their home.
Australia's current self-defence laws do not permit homeowners to use lethal force to defend their homes but there are mounting calls to bring in tougher legislation.
'We’ve seen a growing movement,' Change.org wrote in a newsletter on Wednesday, highlighting six of the 17 petitions were started in the last month.
'There are active petitions asking for castle law in Victoria, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Queensland, with the biggest Castle Law petition demanding national change and amassing 20,000 supporters.'
A national petition to bring Castle Law to Australia has been running for six years with 20,000 signatures - half of which have been added in the last week.
'Australia has become a country with laws that protect the criminals and attack the victims,' organiser Nathan Biles said in the description.
Tens of thousands of Australians are calling for the introduction of 'Castle Law', UK legislation that allows homeowners to use 'reasonable force' to defend themselves during a break-in
'It is every basic human (even animals) right to defend themselves, their home and - most importantly - their family's safety from intrusion, theft, fear, assault and even death, unless you live in Australia.'
People who signed the petition have leapt into the comment section to show their support for Castle Law.
'We are hearing more and more often about machete-wielding ne'er-do-wells and gun violence,' a Sydney woman said.
'As a single woman living alone, I am my only defence.
'When I lived in another country that had a Castle Law, I unfortunately did have to defend myself during a home invasion by aiming a rifle at the intruder team who beat a hasty exit because they knew they were in the wrong and that I had all legal rights to pull the trigger.
'A Castle Law is at least as much about deterrence of intrusion as it is about what happens to an occupant after they defend themselves using force.'
A Melbourne man also highlighted that it becomes a serious issue when relatives are victims.
'Brisbane-invader forced open a window and stole car keys hurting my cousin when he woke and tried to stop him,' he said.
A fed-up Victorian personal trainer Chris Katelaris, who calls himself 'Australia's controversial coach, threw his support behind 'castle law'
The man described the situation 'just ridiculous', adding: 'Cousin had his cricket bat nearby but thought he might hurt the intruder so just tried to grab him and fractured his wrist.'
There is no national data on the number of home invasions, year on year, but there has been a rise in break-ins, according to the most recent survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The bureau of statistics found an estimated 2.1 per cent of households (217,600) experienced a break-in from 2023 to 2024.
The rate was higher than the previous year's total of 1.8 per cent.
Among the break-ins, 14 per cent (29,700) of households had the perpetrator confront someone.
A fed-up Victorian personal trainer Chris Katelaris, who calls himself 'Australia's controversial coach, threw his support behind 'castle law'.
'Would you prefer to be judged by 12 or carried by six,' he said on August 18, using a phrase regularly repeated among American pro-gun movements online.
'Intruders should be met with brute force as soon as they enter someone's property but unfortunately if you were to do that now, you are the one that's going to be in trouble.'
Masked intruders allegedly stabbed a young father on August 17 in the head and face at his home in the Melbourne suburb of Kew East
A petition campaigning for the right to use force in Victoria is the second most popular on Change.org, gaining 7000 supporters since it was started two weeks ago.
It followed a failed motion to review Victoria’s self-defence laws in the state parliament, which was narrowly defeated on August 13.
'Home invasions and violent crimes are rising, yet Victorians feel unheard and unsafe in their own homes,' organiser George Kordelos said.
'Jacinta Allan has said Victorians should call the police instead of defending themselves, but our police are already under-resourced, overworked, and at times unable to attend.
'This makes it urgent to demand change so families can feel truly safe.'
Daily Mail has contacted the Allan government for comment.
Home invasion rates in Victoria have more than doubled since 2021.
The Crime Statistics Agency recorded 46.4 aggravated burglary offences per 100,000 people in 2021, but in the year to March, that figure ballooned to 97.9.
Most recently, on August 17, masked intruders allegedly stabbed a young, Melbourne father in the head and face at his home in the well-to-do suburb Kew East.
The 39-year-old, his wife, and their children were sleeping at the property when five thugs allegedly forced their way into the home.
A 24-year-old man and two teenagers, aged just 16 and 17, were charged with a string of offences, including aggravated home invasion, intentionally causing serious injury, and false imprisonment.
