Combatting Illicit Tobacco Bill 2026
Dr SCAMPS (Mackellar) (17:06): I move the amendment circulated in my name: (1) Schedule 1, page 4 (after line 17), after Part 1, insert: Part 1A — Amendment of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 6A After regulation 4DA Insert: 4DB Importation of tobacco manufacturing equipment Importation of tobacco manufacturing equipment without permission is prohibited (1) The importation of tobacco manufacturing equipment into Australia is prohibited under this regulation unless a permission to import the equipment has been granted in writing by the Minister or an authorised person and the permission is produced to the Collector.
Application for permission (2) An applicant for a permission under subregulation (1) must: (a) lodge a written application with the Minister or an authorised person; and (b) give to the Minister or authorised person any information that the Minister or authorised person reasonably requires for the purpose of making a decision on the application. Dealing with application for permission (3) In considering whether to grant a permission, the Minister or authorised person may consider any relevant matter.
(4) The Minister or authorised person must not grant a permission unless the applicant gives all the information required by the Minister or authorised person under paragraph (2)(b). (5) The Minister or authorised person may grant a permission subject to conditions or requirements, specified in the permission, to be complied with by the holder of the permission.
Revocation of permission (6) The Minister or authorised person may, in writing, revoke a permission if: (a) the holder of the permission does not comply with a condition or requirement of the permission; or (b) the Minister or authorised person is satisfied that revocation is necessary: (i) for the protection of the revenue; or (ii) for ensuring compliance with the Customs Acts.
Notice of decision to refuse or revoke permission (7) If the Minister or authorised person decides: (a) not to grant a permission; or (b) to revoke a permission; the Minister or authorised person must give the applicant or holder of the permission written notice of the decision as soon as practicable after making the decision. (8) In this regulation: authorised person means an APS employee in the Department who is authorised in writing by the Minister to be an authorised person for the purposes of this regulation. tobacco manufacturing equipment means equipment for use in manufacture or production of, or designed or adapted to manufacture or produce, tobacco.
I rise to speak in support of the Combatting Illicit Tobacco Bill 2026. This bill aims to expand law enforcement powers to investigate illicit tobacco related offences and increases the penalties and consequences for persons involved in these crimes. The Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs told the National Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarettes Symposium in March this year that official estimates show that 50 to 60 per cent of tobacco sold in Australia in 2024-25 was illicit.
Organised crime groups earned an estimated $4.1 billion to $6.9 billion in profit from this trade during this period, an estimated excise evasion of up to $11.8 billion. In his speech, the minister stated that this may get worse before it gets better. The amendment I'm introducing today is a proactive step recommended by the Cancer Council Australia to help ensure the situation we are facing gets better, not worse.
I thank the minister for engaging with the Cancer Council Australia directly on this amendment, which would designate tobacco manufacturing equipment as a prohibited import under the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956. It would make it an offence to import such equipment into Australia unless permission has been granted in writing by the relevant minister or authorised person.
This would ban the importation of tobacco manufacturing equipment intended for use in the illegal manufacture, production, design or adaptation of tobacco products. This is a sensible and uncontroversial amendment. Australia already controls tobacco products and unmanufactured tobacco at the border, but illicit operators can still obtain or import the machinery that converts loose-leaf tobacco or counterfeit inputs into mass produced cigarettes.
Current enforcement then becomes reactive. Authorities must find the machine after it has entered Australia and often after production has begun. This is not hypothetical; industrial-scale tobacco machinery is being used right now in Australia for illicit production.
In January this year, authorities raided a Rouse Hill self-storage facility in North-Western Sydney and found a tobacco manufacturing machine with capacity to produce up to 3.6 million cigarettes a day. Australian Border Force—the ABF—linked the operation to organised crime. We need a stronger mechanism to stop tobacco manufacturing equipment at the border before it becomes operational.
This amendment is justified because it would, firstly, disrupt illicit manufacture upstream by allowing Australian Border Force to seize suspect machinery at the border rather than waiting for post-import raids. Second, it would close the gap between product and production controls, since tobacco products and unmanufactured tobacco are already controlled but machinery is not addressed in the same direct way.
Third, it would align Australia with international best practice, particularly the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to which Australia is a signatory. Fourth, it would reduce organised crime profitability. And fifth, it would create a clear evidentiary test where importers must demonstrate legitimate use and a user location and compliance history before importation.
The current customs regulations already control importation of other dual-use production equipment, such as tablet presses and encapsulators. Therefore there is a clear legislative precedent for the prohibited imports regulations to control goods that enable illicit production, and tobacco manufacturing machinery fits that model.