Committee: Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee
Date referred: 27 November 2025
Submissions close: TBC
Reporting date: 30 June 2026

On 27 November 2025, the Senate referred an inquiry into illegal tobacco to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 30 June 2026.

Terms of Reference

That the following matter be referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 30 June 2026:

The illegal tobacco crisis in Australia, with particular reference to:

1. the scale and nature of the illegal tobacco market, including the volume and value of illicit tobacco trade; sources, distribution channels and methods of smuggling or illegal cultivation; and the involvement of transnational serious and organised crime (TSOC) groups;
2. the impact of illegal tobacco on public health and on government revenue, including smoking rates and the loss of Commonwealth excise and customs revenue;
3. law enforcement, intelligence and regulatory responses, including the adequacy of:
   
   (i) penalties and deterrence measures,
   
   (ii) the strategy and effectiveness of onshore and offshore disruption activities, and
   
   (iii) the current legislative and regulatory frameworks and the current levels of inter-government and inter-agency co-operation;
   
   
4. the social and economic impacts, including on legitimate retailers, especially small businesses in regional and rural areas; the public health implications arising from the spread of unregulated tobacco products; and the safety implications for communities affected by illegal operations;
5. forecasts, modelling and plausible future scenarios concerning the potential evolution of the illicit tobacco threat, including the prospect for increased violence and the effect of illicit tobacco on the wider TSOC threat;
6. options for reform, including potential amendments to existing policies and to taxation, customs and/or criminal laws; and
7. any other related matters.