People caught selling illicit tobacco in South Australia could be jailed for up to 17 years and fined as much as $21 million, under changes the State Government introduced to State Parliament on Tuesday, October 13.
Prison terms for the trade would be a first for South Australia. The proposed sentences range from five to 17 years, matching laws already in place in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
The maximum fine for supplying or possessing a large commercial quantity of illicit products would rise from $6.6 million to $21 million. That would put South Australia level with Western Australia at the top of the national range, and more than ten times above many other jurisdictions.
Expiation fees for the same kind of offence would also jump, from $20,000 to as much as $175,000.
The Illicit Tobacco Taskforce, which sits within Consumer and Business Services, would gain the power to shut a shop for 130 days. That medium-term order would be the longest available anywhere in the country, and it would sit alongside the existing seven-day interim and 28-day short-term orders. Twelve-month closure orders would still be handed down by the Magistrates Court.
“For the first time, people caught selling illicit tobacco will face long stints in prison for their involvement in this illegal trade,” Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs Michael Brown said.
“Our message is absolutely clear. Illicit tobacco is not welcome in South Australia.”
Landlords would be able to end a tenant’s lease as soon as any closure order is in place, rather than waiting for a 12-month order as they must now.
A landlord convicted a second time of knowingly allowing illicit trade on their property would face a year in prison. Those who fail to take reasonable steps to stop it, such as reporting it to an Authorised Officer, could be fined between $175,000 and $350,000.
A new ‘compromised goods’ provision would let authorised officers seize every tobacco and e-cigarette product in a shop where a breach is found, legal stock included.
Retailers caught selling prohibited products, or tobacco without the right licence, would also be barred from having an ATM on site, as cash transactions are increasingly used in the illegal trade.
The Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs would also be able to weigh how close a proposed tobacco store is to schools and community centres, and to other licensed retailers, before granting a licence.
The State Government set up its $16 million Illicit Tobacco Taskforce in 2024, and South Australia was the first state to bring in closure orders of up to 12 months and multi-million dollar penalties for illegal sellers.
About 75 per cent of Australia’s illicit tobacco market is controlled by organised crime groups.
“This is a trade that is largely controlled by organised crime, who use the profits from selling tobacco for other nefarious purposes, and innocent people have been impacted by their actions including neighbouring businesses who have had their livelihoods put at risk by fire-bombings,” Mr Brown said.
“The sale of illicit tobacco negatively affects nearby businesses, including getting caught up in the turf wars between criminal organisations,” Minister for Small and Family Business Nadia Clancy said.
Smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Australia, and the Government says the availability of illegal products puts decades of progress in tobacco control at risk.
“We are taking on the illicit tobacco and e-cigarette trade because the health impacts are too damaging to sit back and let it succeed,” Minister for Health and Wellbeing Blair Boyer said.
“While there have been significant decreases in smoking in South Australia, we know that two out of every three people who continue to smoke will die from tobacco-related diseases.”
The Australian Council on Smoking & Health has given South Australia an ‘A’ grade two years running on its National Illicit Tobacco Ladder, a state-by-state ranking of how governments are handling the trade. In 2026 it said the state was ‘way out ahead’ of the others.
The amendments are due to be tabled this week and would change the Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products Act 1997 and the Retail and Commercial Leases Act 1995.
Related
Previous articleFree trees offered to help save KI’s endangered glossy black-cockatoos
