Importing tobacco into Australia: permits, duty-free limits and the postal ban
Australia treats tobacco as a border-controlled product, and the rules tightened sharply in 2019. If you are thinking about ordering from overseas, or bringing packs back in your luggage, the difference between lawful and unlawful comes down to a few specific thresholds. Here they are.
Most tobacco is a prohibited import
Cigarettes, loose-leaf and roll-your-own tobacco, shisha/molasses tobacco and heat-not-burn products are prohibited imports. To bring them in you need a permit issued by the Australian Border Force, and the permit holder must be 18 or over.
Two things about permits surprise most people:
- Personal use is covered, but not for resale. Tobacco imported under a permit for personal use must not be sold, distributed, supplied or exported.
- It cannot arrive by post. Permitted tobacco can only be imported through air or sea cargo — international mail is off the table.
You do not need a permit for cigars, or for chewing tobacco and oral snuff up to 1.5 kg. Tobacco in unaccompanied personal effects is also treated separately, provided you are 18+, declare it and pay the duty and taxes on arrival.
International mail: seized and destroyed
Since 1 July 2019, tobacco products cannot be posted into Australia. Articles containing tobacco may be seized and destroyed — and that applies to the whole article, including any non-tobacco goods packed alongside it. If you are importing something else and a friend adds a carton to the box, you can lose the lot.
This is why “send it discreetly” is not a strategy. There is no lawful way to receive cigarettes by post from overseas, discreet packaging notwithstanding.
Travellers: the duty-free allowance
Arriving travellers do not need a permit, but the concession is small:
| Traveller allowance (18+) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Unopened packet of cigarettes | up to 25 cigarettes |
| Other tobacco products | up to 25 grams |
| Plus | one opened packet of cigarettes |
Exceed it and duty and tax apply to all of the tobacco you are carrying, not just the amount above the allowance. Fail to declare and you risk prosecution or visa cancellation.
Why the duty bill is so large
Excise on cigarettes is $1.55274 per stick and on loose tobacco $2,587.90 per kilogram from 1 September 2026. That means a single undeclared carton is roughly $310 of duty — often more than the traveller paid for the product. Our 2026 excise breakdown runs the full arithmetic.
Buying or selling illicit tobacco carries criminal penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment, and manufacturing or producing up to ten. The ATO publishes the current penalty table on its illicit tobacco pages.
The short version
- By post from overseas: prohibited. Seized and destroyed.
- On your person: 25 cigarettes or 25 g duty-free, plus an opened packet — declare anything more and pay duty on all of it.
- For a business or in bulk: ABF permit, air or sea cargo only, no resale for personal-use permits.
- Domestically: buy from a seller who can show the duty was paid — see the delivery and carrier guide.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Border rules and allowances change — check the ABF’s tobacco pages before you travel or import.