Two rules explain almost everything below: lithium batteries fly in the cabin so the crew can reach them, and the 100ml liquid limit applies to international flights - most domestic flights within Australia have no liquid limits at all.
Every item here states what Australian security screening and airline dangerous-goods rules allow in carry-on and in checked baggage, with the official source linked. Search for the thing in your hand, or browse by category.
Flying within Australia? The liquid and powder limits below are international rules. What changes on a domestic flight sets out the whole split - which rules relax, which are identical, and the quarantine rule that only applies domestically.
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Nothing matches that search. Try the item's everyday name - or if it's not listed, the safe assumptions are: batteries and anything flammable in carry-on questions go to your airline, and liquids over 100ml go in checked baggage on international flights.
New destination guides and side-by-side comparisons for Australian travellers - which eSIM, which travel card, which insurance is worth paying for, and what to sort before you go. Prices in Australian dollars, a few emails a year.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: No Same on domestic flights
Carry-on only, never in checked baggage. Up to 100Wh (roughly a 27,000mAh bank) needs no approval; 100-160Wh needs airline approval and is capped at two; over 160Wh cannot fly.
Since December 2025 Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia also ban using or charging power banks during flight. Keep terminals covered so they cannot short.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: No Same on domestic flights
Spare and loose lithium batteries must travel in carry-on, never checked. Tape the terminals or keep each one in its own pouch or original packaging so metal cannot bridge them.
Same size bands as power banks: no approval to 100Wh, airline approval 100-160Wh, banned above that.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Ordinary alkaline batteries are fine in either bag. Spares still travel better in carry-on with terminals protected.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Conditions Same on domestic flights
Best in carry-on, where the crew can reach a battery problem. A device may go in checked baggage only if it is completely switched off - not sleeping - and protected from damage.
Spare laptop batteries can never be checked.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Conditions Same on domestic flights
Carry it on. A phone in checked baggage must be fully powered off and protected, and airlines discourage it.
Carry-on: No Checked: No Same on domestic flights
Their batteries are far over the 160Wh passenger limit, so airlines refuse them in both cabin and hold. Some accept the device with the battery removed - ask the airline before booking, not at the airport.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Conditions Same on domestic flights
Allowed if the battery is removable. To check the bag you must take the battery out and carry it in the cabin; a bag with a built-in battery that cannot be removed will be refused.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Conditions Same on domestic flights
The drone itself can fly either way, but its lithium batteries follow the spare-battery rules: carry-on only, terminals protected, the usual size bands.
Check your destination's drone import and flying rules separately - several countries confiscate them on arrival.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Fine in both bags. Their button cells are small enough that trackers are permitted in checked luggage, which is exactly where they earn their keep.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: No Same on domestic flights
A gas-powered cordless straightener or curler travels carry-on only, one per person, with the safety cover fitted. Spare gas refills cannot fly at all. Ordinary plug-in models are fine in either bag.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: No Same on domestic flights
Carry-on only - the battery rules put them there - and using or charging them on board is banned. Never in checked baggage.
Several destinations ban vapes outright, including Thailand, where possession can mean arrest. Check your destination's page before packing one.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
International flights: containers of 100ml or less, all fitting in one resealable clear bag of about 20cm x 20cm, one bag per passenger. Bigger containers go in checked baggage.
Most domestic flights within Australia have no liquid limits at all - the 100ml rule is an international-screening rule.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
Take it through international screening empty and fill it airside. On domestic flights a full bottle is fine.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
Counts as a liquid internationally, so 100ml or under in the cabin. Full-size bottles ride in checked baggage.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
Toiletry aerosols are allowed: the 100ml rule applies in the cabin internationally, and full sizes can be checked with the cap fitted so the nozzle cannot be pressed in transit.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
A liquid like any other: 100ml or under for an international cabin bag, any size in checked baggage.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
Follows the liquids rule internationally - 100ml or under in the clear bag. No limit on domestic flights.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes Does not apply domestically
Bought airside, it can exceed 100ml if it stays in the sealed tamper-evident bag with the receipt inside. On itineraries with a connection, the next airport's screening decides - transit countries can and do confiscate it.
If you connect through another country, buying at the final airport or having it checked through is the safe play.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Conditions Same on domestic flights
In the cabin the liquids rule applies. In checked baggage: drinks between 24% and 70% alcohol are capped at 5 litres per person in retail packaging; over 70% cannot fly at all; under 24% - wine and beer - has no dangerous-goods limit.
Your destination's duty-free import allowance is a separate, usually smaller, number.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
Exempt from the 100ml rule when you are travelling with the infant - carry a reasonable amount for the flight. Screening officers may ask to inspect it.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Exempt from liquid limits in reasonable quantities with proof it is yours - the pharmacy label or a letter. Pack it in carry-on, in original packaging.
Whether it is legal at your destination is the bigger question. Our medication guide covers the countries that catch Australians out.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
International flights split powders in two: inorganic powders (talc, salt, some cosmetics) are capped at 350ml total per person in the cabin; organic powders like coffee, protein and baby formula have no cap but may be screened separately. No powder limits on domestic flights.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
Frozen solid, they pass international screening; partly thawed, they count as a liquid and the 100ml rule bites. Checked baggage takes them either way.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Blades up to 6cm from the pivot are allowed in carry-on in Australia. Longer than that, they go in checked baggage.
Other countries screen your return flight by their own rules, which can be stricter.
Carry-on: No Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
No knife of any size in the cabin, including the blade on a multitool. Checked baggage is fine - but check your destination's knife laws before packing one at all.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Cartridge and disposable razors are fine in carry-on. Open blades - straight razors and loose safety-razor blades - are checked baggage only.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Nail clippers, short files and tweezers are all allowed in carry-on under Australian screening rules.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Allowed in carry-on on flights screened in Australia. Some other countries disagree, so pack them in checked baggage for the trip home if you are unsure.
Carry-on: No Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Tools that could be used as weapons - screwdrivers, drills, crowbars, most things with a shaft - are banned from the cabin. Checked baggage takes them; battery tools follow the lithium rules for their batteries.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Fine in the cabin, including compact ones in your bag. Screening officers occasionally ask to X-ray a large golf umbrella separately.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: No Same on domestic flights
One ordinary lighter per person, carried on you - not in your bag, not in checked baggage. Jet-flame and blue-flame lighters cannot fly at all.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: No Same on domestic flights
One box of safety matches, carried on your person. Strike-anywhere matches are banned entirely, and no matches can go in checked baggage.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Carrying them on a plane is unrestricted. What matters is your destination's import allowance - and Australia's small duty-free tobacco limit when you come home.
Carry-on: No Checked: No Same on domestic flights
Explosives of any size cannot fly in either bag - fireworks, sparklers, flares, party poppers and Christmas crackers included.
Carry-on: No Checked: No Same on domestic flights
Gas canisters and liquid fuel cannot fly, full or empty-ish. A stove or fuel bottle can only travel completely purged and cleaned, with airline approval - organise it days ahead or buy fuel at the destination.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Conditions Different on domestic flights
Through security, solid food is fine anywhere; spreads, sauces and anything scoopable count as liquids internationally. The real limit is your destination's biosecurity - fresh food, honey and meat products are seized at many borders.
New Zealand and Bali are notoriously strict inbound. Check your destination's page before packing food gifts.
Carry-on: No Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Anything swingable - bats, clubs, hockey sticks - is banned from the cabin. Racquets are usually allowed but airline size limits often send them to the hold anyway. Checked baggage takes all of it.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Rods usually pass security but rarely fit cabin size limits; hooks and tackle belong in checked baggage. Declare used gear at biosecurity-strict destinations - New Zealand inspects it.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Security has no problem with them; cabin size limits do. Small instruments fly as your carry-on piece, larger ones go in the hold in a hard case or on a purchased extra seat.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Declare on arrival: Required Does not apply domestically
There is no limit on how much cash you can carry, but AUD $10,000 or more - in any currency, or the foreign equivalent - must be declared to Border Force both leaving and entering Australia. The form is free and takes a minute.
The threshold counts physical cash and bearer instruments like traveller's cheques and money orders, not the balance on your card. Splitting it between travelling companions to stay under $10,000 is "structuring" and is itself an offence.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Declare on arrival: Required Does not apply domestically
Coming home, adults 18 and over can bring in AUD $900 of general goods duty free, and under-18s AUD $450. Families travelling together on the same flight can pool their allowances.
Go over the limit and duty and GST apply to everything, not just the excess. Keep receipts for anything expensive you took out of Australia, or it can be counted against your allowance on the way back.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Declare on arrival: Required Does not apply domestically
Travellers 18 and over may bring in one unopened packet of up to 25 cigarettes or 25 grams of tobacco, plus one open packet, duty free. There is no concession at all for under-18s.
Australian tobacco duty is among the highest in the world, so a carton bought overseas usually costs more once duty is paid than the same carton bought here. Declare it: the penalty for not declaring is worse than the duty.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Conditions Declare on arrival: Required Different on domestic flights
All food must be declared on your Incoming Passenger Card, cooked or raw, sealed or open, including snacks from the plane. Declaring costs nothing and a biosecurity officer decides; failing to declare risks a fine or prosecution.
Meat, dairy and fresh produce are the usual seizures. If you are unsure whether something counts, declare it - there is no penalty for declaring something that turns out to be fine.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Conditions Declare on arrival: Required Does not apply domestically
Every wooden and bamboo article must be declared on arrival in Australia. Items need to be clean and free of bark, insects and soil; anything carrying pests can be treated, exported or destroyed at your cost.
Carved masks, drums, bowls and bark paintings are the classic problem, especially from South East Asia and the Pacific. Buy finished, sanded, bark-free pieces if you want them to survive the border.
Carry-on: No Checked: No Declare on arrival: Required Different on domestic flights
Most seeds, live plants, cuttings and fresh flowers are prohibited without an import permit, and all of them must be declared. Seeds sold as souvenirs or in craft items count.
This is the category most likely to be confiscated outright rather than treated. Dried, commercially packaged herbs and spices are usually fine, but still have to be declared.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Conditions Declare on arrival: Required Does not apply domestically
Shells and coral must be declared and need to be clean and free of any animal tissue or sand. Many corals and giant clam shells are also CITES-listed, which means they need a permit regardless of how clean they are.
Sand is treated as soil and is effectively prohibited. A jar of beach sand is one of the more common things people are surprised to lose at Australian arrivals.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Conditions Declare on arrival: Required Does not apply domestically
Travellers aged 18 and over may bring kava into Australia in accompanied baggage, up to 4kg per person, and it must be declared. It cannot arrive by post or unaccompanied freight.
Import rules for kava have changed more than once in recent years, and some Australian states and territories restrict possession separately. Check the current limit with the department before you buy in Fiji, Vanuatu or Tonga.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Conditions Declare on arrival: Required Different on domestic flights
Honey and other bee products must be declared and most are restricted, because they can carry diseases that would devastate Australian hives. Honey from New Zealand is generally permitted; most other origins are not.
This catches people bringing manuka home from New Zealand or honey from a market in Europe. Declare it and let the officer decide.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
A snow globe is a liquid. Internationally it only passes cabin screening if the globe itself holds 100ml or less and fits in your clear bag, which rules out most of them. Checked baggage takes any size.
The 100ml limit is the capacity of the container, not the liquid inside it, so a big globe that is half full still fails. Wrap it well: they are also one of the more breakable souvenirs.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Conditions Same on domestic flights
Nail polish and remover are flammable liquids as well as ordinary liquids: 100ml or under in an international cabin bag, and airlines cap the total flammable toiletries you may check at around 2 litres per person.
Pure acetone remover is the stricter of the two. Keep bottles upright in a sealed bag; cabin pressure changes make them leak.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
Treated as an ordinary liquid at 100ml or under internationally. Larger quantities are allowed in the cabin when they are medically necessary, but you must declare them at screening and may be asked for evidence.
Travel-size bottles are sold at most Australian pharmacies and save the conversation entirely. There are no limits on domestic flights.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Mobility aids travel free on Australian airlines and do not count towards your baggage allowance, but battery-powered ones need advance notice - usually 48 hours - so the airline can check the battery type and how it is secured.
Lithium batteries usually have to be removed and carried in the cabin; sealed gel and dry-cell batteries can often stay fitted. Ring the airline rather than relying on the website, and get the answer in writing.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Conditions Same on domestic flights
Medical devices travel in the cabin and most Australian airlines do not count them towards your carry-on allowance. Portable oxygen concentrators need airline approval before you fly; a CPAP generally does not.
Carry the device in the cabin even if you will not use it: checked baggage is where they get damaged. A doctor's letter is not usually required but resolves questions quickly at screening.
Carry-on: No Checked: No Same on domestic flights
Prohibited in both cabin and checked baggage without exception. Pepper spray, mace, tasers and stun devices cannot fly, and in most Australian states and territories they are also illegal to simply possess.
Buying one legally overseas does not make it legal to bring home. This is one of the few items on this page that can lead to a criminal charge rather than a bin.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Conditions Same on domestic flights
Allowed with airline approval, usually up to 2.5kg per person, and only in packaging that lets the gas vent. The package has to be marked with the weight and the words "dry ice" or "carbon dioxide, solid".
Approval is per airline and not automatic. Ordinary frozen gel packs need no approval and solve most of the same problems.
Carry-on: No Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Australian airlines carry a pram and a car seat per child free of charge, on top of your baggage allowance. Prams can usually be used to the aircraft door and collected there or at the carousel.
Confirm gate delivery when you check in - it varies by airport and aircraft. A padded bag is worth it; prams take a beating in the hold.
Carry-on: No Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Checked only, as oversize sporting equipment. Most Australian airlines take them for a set fee or against your allowance, but they need to be booked in advance because hold space for long items is limited.
Fins off, board bagged, and nothing loose inside. Ding repair kits containing resin are dangerous goods and cannot fly at all.
Carry-on: No Checked: Yes Same on domestic flights
Checked as oversize baggage, boxed or bagged, and booked ahead. Tyres should be partly deflated and pedals removed. CO2 inflator canisters are restricted and most airlines allow at most two small ones.
Electric bikes are the exception: their batteries are far over the 160Wh passenger limit, so e-bikes cannot fly on a passenger aircraft at all.
Carry-on: Conditions Checked: Yes No limit on domestic flights
Protein powder is an organic powder, so it is not caught by the 350ml cap that applies to inorganic powders on international flights. It is still screened separately and large tubs are often opened.
Keep it in the original labelled container. An unlabelled bag of white powder in your carry-on is the single fastest way to a long conversation at screening.
Carry-on: Yes Checked: Yes Declare on arrival: Required No limit on domestic flights
No restriction on flying with them in either bag. The rule that bites is on the way home: supplements containing animal or plant material - fish oil, collagen, herbal preparations - must be declared to biosecurity.
Some traditional medicines contain ingredients from protected species and are prohibited outright. Keep everything in its original labelled packaging.
Carry-on: No Checked: No Same on domestic flights
Cannabis products including CBD are prescription-only medicines in Australia and cannot simply be carried in or out. Bringing them in without the right paperwork is an importation offence, not a customs formality.
Legal purchase overseas is irrelevant. Several destinations Australians visit treat any cannabis product as a serious criminal matter, so this is one to leave behind in both directions.
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Almost everything on this page is cheap to fix at home and expensive to fix at screening: the confiscated multitool, the over-limit power bank, the gas canister that gets a whole bag offloaded. Ten minutes against this list while you pack is the whole trick - it's the same logic as the rest of your pre-departure checklist.
And remember the flight home: your return trip is screened under the departure country's rules, which are sometimes stricter than Australia's. If an item scraped through here, don't count on it scraping through there.
Up to 100Wh needs no approval, which covers nearly every normal power bank - a 10,000mAh bank is about 37Wh and a 20,000mAh bank about 74Wh. Between 100Wh and 160Wh you need airline approval and are limited to two. Over 160Wh cannot fly. Power banks always go in carry-on, never checked, and since December 2025 the major Australian airlines also ban using or charging them during flight.
Yes, and this is the one that catches people out. Your return flight is screened under the departure country’s rules, not Australia’s, and some are stricter - a lighter that flew out of Sydney in your pocket may not be allowed back through screening overseas. If an item scraped through here, do not count on it scraping through there.
In your carry-on, yes - never in checked baggage, and using or charging it on board is banned. The bigger risk is the destination: several countries ban vapes entirely, including Thailand, where possession can lead to arrest. Check the rules for the country you are landing in, not just the flight.
One ordinary cigarette lighter per person, carried on you rather than packed in any bag. Jet-flame and blue-flame lighters are banned from flying entirely, and no lighter can go in checked baggage.
Drinks between 24% and 70% alcohol are limited to 5 litres per person in retail packaging. Anything over 70% cannot fly in any bag. Wine and beer under 24% have no dangerous-goods limit - though your destination’s duty-free import allowance is usually far smaller than what the plane allows.
Yes, if the blades are 6cm or shorter measured from the pivot. Longer scissors go in checked baggage. Note that the return flight is screened under the departure country’s rules, which can be stricter than Australia’s.
International flights from Australia limit inorganic powders - talc, salt, some mineral cosmetics - to 350ml total per person in the cabin. Organic powders like coffee, protein powder and baby formula have no cap but are often screened separately. There are no powder limits on domestic flights.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026. Screening and dangerous-goods rules change - the December 2025 power bank changes proved it - and airlines can be stricter than the government baseline. For anything unusual, the linked source and your airline's dangerous-goods page are the final word.