Australia: Former Victoria Young Australian of the Year charged over replica guns and police uniforms

World Desk · 13 July 2026 at 22:00 · 30s summary · 3 min read

What we know

Darcy McGauley-Bartlett, 27, a Gunai Kurnai man and Victoria's Young Australian of the Year in 2023, has been arrested and charged with possession of police uniforms and replica firearms, according to ABC News Australia.

On June 11, 2026, Victoria Police searched a property in Huntly, north of Bendigo. Investigators seized 15 gel blasters—firearm replicas that shoot water-filled gel pellets, classified as prohibited weapons in Victoria and requiring a firearms license to possess—police uniforms, fake handcuffs, batons, and false police certificates.

McGauley-Bartlett has been released on bail. He is due to appear on October 2, 2026 before Bendigo Magistrates' Court.

Context

McGauley-Bartlett received the title of Victoria's Young Australian of the Year in 2023 for his advocacy on Indigenous health in custody and for founding the state's first Aboriginal Youth Cautioning Program—a scheme offering Indigenous youth formal cautions as an alternative to court prosecution for minor offences in a restorative justice framework.

In 2023, he also appeared as a panelist on a Q&A program focused on the Voice to Parliament referendum—a proposal put to Australian voters on October 14, 2023 aimed at establishing a constitutional Indigenous advisory body to federal Parliament. The proposal was rejected by voters.

According to his LinkedIn profile—since deleted—he held a senior leadership position at the Balit Murrup unit of Victoria's Department of Health, a unit dedicated to the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous peoples across the state.

Timeline

1. 2023
   McGauley-Bartlett receives the title of Victoria's Young Australian of the Year for his advocacy on Indigenous health in custody and creation of the Aboriginal Youth Cautioning Program.
2. October 14, 2023
   He appears as a panelist on a Q&A program on the Voice to Parliament referendum, which is ultimately rejected by Australian voters.
3. 2025
   Launch of the podcast 'No Shame Just Truth' with AJ Williams-Tchen, director of Girraway Ganyi Consultancy.
4. Victoria Police search a property in Huntly, north of Bendigo, and seize 15 gel blasters, police uniforms, fake handcuffs, batons, and false police certificates.