Victoria Bill Lets Regulators Shut Illegal Tobacco Shops, With A$2.4M Fines and 20 Years' Prison

The legislation builds on closure powers that took effect in September, under which Tobacco Licensing Victoria and Victoria Police can issue closure notices for up to 90 days and apply to the Magistrates' Court for longer-term orders, and under which landlords who knowingly allow illicit tobacco sales face penalties. The state government said the new measures extend those tools further, according to Vapesee's report.

Enver Erdogan, Victoria's minister for casino, gaming and liquor regulation, said illicit tobacco trade endangers public safety and funds organized crime, and requires coordinated action across jurisdictions. "Sell illicit tobacco in Victoria and your business will be closed," he said, according to the state government.

The state's push follows the economics that keep the black market supplied. Australia's federal excise adds roughly A$1.50 in tax to a single cigarette, driving legal pack prices sharply higher, while illicit tobacco prices have remained broadly stable since December 2016 — in contrast to legal tobacco, where annual excise indexation has pushed prices close to three times their 2016 level, Australian Bureau of Statistics data cited in the bill's explanatory material shows.

National nicotine consumption also climbed far faster than population growth between 2017 and 2025, rising well above the 14% population increase over the same period, with the increase driven mainly by illicit tobacco and vaping product use.

Victorian authorities argue the combination of record excise and a stable illicit price signal has made illegal supply a structural feature of the market rather than a marginal activity, and that closure powers — backed by penalties designed to exceed the profits of offending businesses — are the fastest lever available to state regulators.

[Reference]
Vapesee (original report) — https://vapesee.com/info/32005- Premier of Victoria, Lights Out On Illicit Tobacco — https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/lights-out-illicit-tobacco
- vic.gov.au, Tobacco-related closure powers (Sep. 9, 2026) — https://www.vic.gov.au/tobacco-closure-powers
- ABC News coverage — https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-09/vic-victoria-illegal-tobacco-store-closures/107131788