Labor Cracks Down On Illegal Tobacco Stores In Sydney

NSW Government and Health are cracking down on illegal tobacco stores in Sydney, with products seized by authorities in raids yesterday.

Tobacco stores were closed down on Tuesday, 4 November, after NSW Health used new Minns Government laws to order the 90-day closures of two shops in St Leonards. They’re the first closures under the state’s new anti-illicit tobacco powers. NSW Police assisted NSW Health with the raids, and more shops are scheduled for inspection on Wednesday.

“To be sure, this will take some time as we ramp up our closure activities, but this is just the beginning. More will follow in the coming days, weeks and months,” said Ryan Park, Minister for Health.

Changes to the Public Health (Tobacco) Act give the Health Secretary the authority to request long-term closure orders of up to 12 months, once approved by the Local Court, for relevant violations. NSW Health can also enforce short-term closures of up to 90 days for selling illegal tobacco, vaping products, or tobacco without a licence.

The two stores were raided on the Pacific Highway, where inspectors seized 3,860 illicit cigarettes and 224 illegal vapes; two other stores were inspected, and further enforcement will be involved.

The Act’s penalties have increased to $660,000 for individuals and $880,000 for corporations for selling or possessing tobacco without a licence, and up to $1.54 million or seven years’ imprisonment for illicit-tobacco offences or both.

“The new penalties and closure powers are an important step forward in reducing the appeal and availability of these products,” said Dr Kerry Chant, NSW Chief Health Officer.

“Tobacco use remains one of the leading causes of preventable death and disease in our community. The new closure powers are another key tool to ensure we act swiftly and gain stronger oversight of the illicit tobacco and illegal trade to help protect public health.”

Health minister promises to catch criminals

Under the NSW Tobacco Licensing Scheme, any retailer or wholesaler selling tobacco or non-tobacco smoking products must hold a valid licence. 

Between January 1 and October 27, 2025, NSW Health inspectors executed 1,260 retailer checks, confiscating over 11.8 million cigarettes, more than 2,000 kilograms of various illicit tobacco items, and around 170,000 illegal vapes. Courts have finalised 17 prosecutions with $597,200 in fines, and 28 prosecutions, including a District Court appeal, are before the courts.

“If you’re doing the wrong thing, sooner or later we will come for you,” said Park.

Premier Chris Minns has linked the surge in the black market to higher federal tobacco excise. The Australian Taxation Office estimates the illicit tobacco market to be around $3.2 billion in 2023–24, while the ATO shares that the real rate could be higher.

“It’s genuinely a return to 1991 and the leading reason for that is the federal government’s excise which has gone from $16 a packet to $29 a packet, a packet of 20 cigarettes,” said Minns to The Sydney Morning Herald. 

“But if you look at the economics of this, we are effectively providing a subsidised, cheap, widely available, ubiquitous tobacco industry that is untaxed. And the obvious thing has happened here, and that is, there’s been an explosion in tobacco use.”