Tobacco licensing scheme debated

The Tobacco Amendment (Tobacco Retailer and Wholesaler Licensing Scheme) Bill 2024 would prohibit the retail and wholesale sale of tobacco products without a licence, provide more powers to tackle illicit tobacco and organised crime and increase penalties for supplying or selling illicit tobacco. 

In her second reading speech Minister for Gaming and Liquor Regulation Melissa Horne said the bill implements key findings from the Review into Illicit Tobacco completed by the Commissioner for Better Regulation in 2021, as well as the 2024 Public Accounts and Estimates Committee Inquiry into Vaping and Tobacco Controls. 

‘The reforms in this bill respond to significant community concerns regarding illicit tobacco and the prevalence of tobacco businesses suspected of involvement in its distribution across the state,’ she said. 

The bill will also introduce the strongest penalties in Australia for supplying illicit tobacco. 

Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy said the opposition parties would not be opposing the bill and welcomed the severity of the penalties to be imposed.

“ ‘The reforms in this bill respond to significant community concerns regarding illicit tobacco and the prevalence of tobacco businesses suspected of involvement in its distribution across the state.' ”

Melissa Horne, Minister for Gaming and Liquor Regulation

‘These are serious fines, and I am pleased to see they are serious,’ he said. 
 
‘Selling tobacco without a licence starts at $165,000 for individuals and goes up to $827,000. I think it is fair to say that if you are in the industry of selling tobacco you would want to think seriously about getting a licence, because the profits are going to dwindle very quickly if you start getting fines of $165,000 and up to $800,000.’ 
 
However he said there had not been enough time to properly consider the legislation and moved a reasoned amendment to allow further consultation with affected stakeholders. 
 
Daniela De Martino, the Member for Monbulk said there was no time for delay.

“ ‘These are serious fines, and I am pleased to see they are serious.’ ”

Tim McCurdy, Member for Ovens Valley

‘The community has rightly been very, very concerned regarding illicit tobacco and the prevalence of tobacco businesses suspected of involvement in its distribution. We have seen reports of businesses being firebombed, leaving devastating impacts not just on those businesses but on neighbouring traders, on nearby residents and on the wider community,’ she said.   
 
‘We want this in by the end of the year. We have another sitting week to go, and we are working hard to ensure that the first stage commences by the end of this year.’ 
 
Danny O’Brien, Member for Gippsland South, said delaying the bill would not delay its implementation since it would not be fully operational until 2026. He said there were important questions still to be resolved. 

‘We do not yet know what the cost of registration will be. We need to ensure that the legitimate businesses – whether they are mum-and-dad corner stores, whether they are smaller businesses, whether they are the big supermarket chains or whether they are pubs and clubs that are selling cigarettes – are not adversely affected by this as well,’ he said.

“ ‘The best way to stamp out organised crime and this illegal tobacco that has taken hold not just here in Victoria but across the country is to stop it in the first place.’ ”

Sarah Connolly, Member for Laverton

Member for Albert Park, Nina Taylor said the scheme would take time to get fully established to give businesses time to comply with the regime and to hire and train staff to assess licence applications. 

‘From early 2026 there will be inspectors on the ground making sure businesses have a licence. We want to give businesses the time to go and do the right thing and get licensed, and we need to give them at least six months to do so,’ she said. 
 
David Southwick, Member for Caulfield, said the government should have acted sooner.

‘We have seen over 100 tobacco stores firebombed in the last couple of years, and it is very, very unfortunate that we have waited that time – two years – to be able to debate this bill,’ he said. 
 
Sarah Connolly, Member for Laverton and Chair of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, which held an inquiry into vaping and tobacco controls, said addressing rates of smoking and vaping would would help wipe out organised crime. 
 
‘The best way to stamp out organised crime and this illegal tobacco that has taken hold not just here in Victoria but across the country is to stop it in the first place,’ she said. 
 
Member for Brunswick, Tim Read, said the prevalence of cheap illegal tobacco was undermining efforts to improve Victorian’s health.  
 
‘The increasing price of cigarettes has been a key driver in the reduction in smoking over the last 30 years in Australia, so undermining that is undermining people’s attempts to quit and Australia’s efforts to get our population to smoke less and to be more healthy,' he said.   

The full debate is avaiable to read in Hansard for November 13 and Hansard for November 14.

The bill will now go to the Legislative Council for consideration.