31/10/2024
A new licensing scheme
Recent enforcement activities have observed a rise in illicit tobacco retailing including amongst rural communities in NSW, which adversely affects businesses that operate within the law. Illicit retailers undercut legitimate small businesses by selling illicit tobacco at lower prices and some have been found to be located in close proximity to schools.
A new tobacco licensing scheme will also be introduced, to better protect those businesses doing the right thing and ensure greater oversight of the tobacco retail industry in NSW.
Under these changes, retailers and wholesalers of tobacco and non-tobacco smoking products will be required to hold a tobacco licence and pay an annual fee.
A licence will be able to be refused, or revoked, if the applicant has been convicted of a tobacco or vaping product related offence.
The scheme will support comprehensive and targeted enforcement to identify and penalise those retailers and wholesalers doing the wrong thing.
The proposed legislation includes penalties of up to $220,000 for corporations and $44,000 for individuals for selling tobacco without a licence under the new scheme.
To ensure that applying for a tobacco licence is not burdensome for small businesses, a technical support phoneline will be available to everyone submitting an application.
A tobacco licensing scheme will complement the NSW Government’s broader approach to tobacco compliance and enforcement.
Tougher penalties
The government will double maximum penalties for a range of tobacco retailing offences, including:
- Individuals selling tobacco products to minors will be fined up to $22,000 for a first offence and $110,000 for a subsequent offence, with corporations liable for up to $110,000 for a first offence and $220,000 for subsequent offences;
- Individuals selling tobacco products not in the required packaging or with the mandatory health warnings will be fined up to $22,000, and corporations up to $110,000; and
- People impersonating or obstructing an inspector can be fined up to $1,100, up from $550.
Enforcement & seizures
NSW Health will also recruit an additional 14 enforcement officers to strengthen compliance efforts across the state. This doubles the number of authorised inspectors employed by the Ministry of Health. Ahead of these reforms, NSW Health boosted regional enforcement capacity by supporting the employment of four additional enforcement officers. This compliance workforce complements authorised staff who undertake inspections across local health districts
From 1 July 2024 to 30 September 2024, NSW Health inspectors conducted 565 targeted retail inspections, seizing more than 3.2 million cigarettes and over 600kg of other illicit tobacco products, with an estimated value of over $3.7 million.
NSW Health collaborates with NSW Police and other state and national regulatory agencies on enforcement related to illicit tobacco sales, including sharing intelligence, working on joint targets and joint operations.
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