The machete bins themselves cost about 2,400 Australian dollars each (around 2,800 dollars including delivery), according to evidence cited in the Victorian Parliament.

Why people say “$325,000 per bin”

  • The Victorian government set aside 13 million dollars for the entire machete amnesty program, which included:
    • Public awareness and education campaigns
    • Installation and logistics
    • The physical bins themselves
      This total, divided by roughly 40 bins, led to viral claims of about 325,000 dollars per bin , but this figure rolls in the whole program budget, not just the metal bins.
  • Fact-checkers and MPs have since said this interpretation is misleading , stressing that the 325,000‑per‑bin claim “grossly exaggerates” the actual hardware cost.

What official figures say the bins cost

In a September 2025 contribution recorded in the Victorian Parliament’s Hansard, an MP stated:

  • The machete bins were “only about $2,400 each”
  • Or about $2,800 including delivery
  • A quote from a manufacturer for a similar secure bin was around $4,000 , so the MP argued the government’s price was actually lower than standard retail.

This is the closest thing currently available to an official per‑bin cost figure, and it directly contradicts the viral 325,000‑dollar number.

Program cost vs bin cost (quick view)

[9][2][3] [2][9] [5][9][2] [3] [3]
Item Approximate amount Source
Total machete amnesty program budget $13 million
Number of bins About 40
Viral claim (program budget ÷ bins) ≈$325,000 “per bin”
Claimed actual cost per bin (hardware) ≈$2,400 each (≈$2,800 with delivery)
Typical quote for similar bin ≈$4,000

Forum and social chatter

Online discussions in places like Reddit and social media heavily amplified the idea that each machete bin cost around 300,000–325,000 dollars , usually framed as evidence of government waste.

Fact‑checking outlets and parliamentary comments later pushed back, clarifying that this mixes up the whole program cost with the unit cost of the bins themselves.

In short: the “$325k per bin” line is a political and social‑media talking point; the best available official figure puts the physical machete bins at roughly $2,400 each plus delivery.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.