Australian Government Announces AU$188.5 Million to Strengthen Crackdown on Illicit Tobacco Trade

The Australian government has announced an investment of AU$188.5 million to collaborate with states and territories to provide a new compliance model for the Australian Border Force (ABF) over the next four years to combat the illicit tobacco trade.

According to Australian media Miragenews, the government will work with states and territories to implement this new compliance model to address all aspects of the illicit tobacco issue. The ABF will lead federal, state, and territory partners in tackling the problem.

The new compliance model focuses on three key areas:

• Preventing illicit tobacco from entering Australia. The ABF will work with international partners to combat and disrupt illicit tobacco at the source and transit countries before it reaches Australia's borders;

• Enhancing the ABF's capacity to respond to illicit tobacco trade at the border. This includes intelligence gathering, targeting criminal organizations, conducting investigations, and identifying, seizing, and destroying illicit tobacco. The ABF will introduce technological improvements, including the use of artificial intelligence for illicit tobacco threat detection to enhance detection and enforcement capabilities. Federal agencies and state and territory law enforcement partners will be empowered to proactively target domestic illicit tobacco groups attempting to bring tobacco into Australia;

• Pooling resources to implement a coordinated multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional response across states and territories.

The government's strengthened actions will further deter and disrupt illicit tobacco in Australia, building on significant achievements made since the establishment of the illicit tobacco task force in July 2018.

“We will continue to send a clear message to individuals and organizations involved in the illicit tobacco trade that participating in this trade is a serious crime.”

Tobacco is a significant source of revenue for organized crime, funding other illegal activities. There is a well-documented link between the distribution and sale of illicit tobacco products in Australia and serious organized crime.