Australian authorities are to gain wider powers to prosecute businesses selling illegal tobacco, with low prices, unusual packaging and concealed products potentially being used as evidence of criminality.
Legislation being introduced to federal parliament on Thursday will overhaul customs rules and remove the need to prove that illicit tobacco was knowingly imported illegally before enforcement action can be taken.
Under the proposed changes, cigarettes sold for less than the combined value of excise and GST could be treated as evidence of illegal trading. Products in non-standard packaging or hidden from view would also provide grounds for authorities to bring charges.
Assistant Customs Minister Julian Hill said the reforms would modernise the law and give Australian Border Force and state and territory police stronger tools to target the trade.
“It’ll give powerful new tools to border force, but every state and territory police force to go after the crooks,” he told ABC Radio.
Mr Hill said organised criminal syndicates were exploiting the availability of tobacco produced for less than $1 a pack and using it to move illicit products across national borders.
“This is a major global problem, and Australia’s not immune,” he said.
Pressure over tobacco excise
The proposed customs changes come amid a political dispute over Australia’s tobacco excise, with the Coalition promising an 80 per cent cut in an attempt to curb the growth of illegal cigarette sales. One Nation has called for a 75 per cent reduction.
Estimates cited in the debate suggest illegal tobacco accounted for about 80 per cent of all tobacco consumed in 2025, compared with 12 per cent in 2017. The excise has more than trebled over the same period.
Opponents of the Government’s approach have argued that a 34 per cent increase in excise since Labor came to office in 2022 has helped fuel the black market, alongside a series of firebombings targeting tobacco and vape retailers.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has left open the possibility of reducing the excise, but said making legal tobacco and vapes cheaper would not, by itself, solve the problem. He also said state governments had a responsibility to shut down shops selling illegal products.
Mr Hill said he expected the customs measures to attract support across parliament, describing them as powers law enforcement agencies had been seeking.
He said the priority was to strip criminal networks of the proceeds of the trade by targeting their money, property and other assets.
