Committee Details

Committee’s report

The committee tabled its Report No. 16, 58th Parliament - Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Dismantling Illegal Trade) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 on 7 November 2025. The Bill passed with amendment on 19 November 2025.

About the Bill 

On 16 September 2025, the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services introduced the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Dismantling Illegal Trade) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 into the Queensland Parliament. The Bill was referred to the Health, Environment and Innovation Committee for detailed consideration.  

View: Explanatory speech
View: Bill
View: Explanatory Notes
View: Statement of Compatibility
View: Amendments (tabled 19 November 2025): Explanatory Notes, Statement of Compatibility

The objectives of the Bill were to:

• protect public health by reducing the supply and possession of illicit tobacco and illicit nicotine products;
• strengthen existing powers and offences to ensure they provide an appropriate financial deterrent to the supply and possession of illicit tobacco and illicit nicotine products;
• reduce the availability of commercial premises used for the illegal trade;
• hold lessors who permit the supply and possession of illicit products accountable;
• improve enforcement and investigation efficiencies; and
• make minor and technical amendments to improve the operation of the Act.

The Bill proposes various amendments to the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998. The amendments introduce a suite of measures to address the public health issues stemming from the supply and commercial possession of illicit tobacco and illicit nicotine products. Proposed measures include: 

• expanding ‘interim’ closure powers (issued by the chief executive) from 72 hours to 3 months
• expanding long term closure powers (issued by a Magistrate) from 6 months to 12 months
• introducing a new offence for continuing business operations when subject to a closure order
• introducing a new statutory power to enable a lessor to cancel a lease when a premises is subject to a closure order
• introducing a new offence where lessors knowingly permit premises to be used to supply or possess illicit tobacco or illicit nicotine products, and introducing civil penalty orders for knowingly or recklessly permitting premises to be used to supply or possess illicit tobacco or illicit nicotine products (as an alternative to criminal prosecution)
• new deeming provisions relating to executive officer liability for certain offences
• expanding existing seizure and forfeiture powers to allow authorised persons to seize and forfeit lawful smoking products (as compromised goods) when lawful goods are found alongside illicit tobacco or illicit nicotine products
• expanding existing entry powers to allow authorised persons to enter wholesale premises without a warrant or the occupier’s consent
• new powers to enable ‘controlled purchase officers’ to conduct covert operations, authorised by the chief executive and supervised by an authorised person chosen by the chief executive
• powers to allow authorised officers to ‘require information’ from any person relevant to certain monitoring and enforcement actions, and a new offence for failing to comply with a requirement to provide information without reasonable excuse; and
• expanding the information required as part of an initial licence application.

The Bill proposed to amend the State Penalties Enforcement Regulation 2014 to prescribe three offences as penalty infringement notice offences with their respective penalty amounts

Further information

Further information including written briefings, correspondence, response to submissions, transcripts and answers to questions taken on notice is available under the Related Publications tab.

Timeline