How much cash can you take in and out of Australia?
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.
The threshold is symmetrical and that surprises people: AUD $10,000 or more has to be reported both on the way out and on the way in. Searchers ask "how much can I take out" and "how much can I bring in" as if they were different rules. They are the same rule.
It is a reporting rule, not a limit. There is no cap on how much cash you may carry - the obligation is simply to declare it. The form is free, and completing it does not cost you the money or trigger anything by itself.
Two things catch people out. The threshold counts any currency at its Australian-dollar equivalent, so a mix of euros and baht can cross it without any single pile looking like $10,000. And splitting the money between travelling companions to keep each person under the threshold is "structuring", which is an offence in its own right - worse than the thing it was meant to avoid.
Flying within Australia? This one does not apply.
The $10,000 report is for moving money in or out of Australia. There is no limit on carrying cash on a domestic flight.
This one is decided at the Australian border rather than at screening. Declaring a thing costs nothing and a biosecurity or Border Force officer decides - it is failing to declare that carries the fine. If you are not sure whether something counts, declare it.
Cash over $10,000: common questions
How much cash can you take out of Australia?
There is no limit. You can carry any amount, but AUD $10,000 or more - in any currency or the foreign equivalent - must be declared to Border Force when you leave. The declaration is free and takes a minute.
How much cash can you bring into Australia?
The same threshold applies in both directions: AUD $10,000 or more has to be declared on arrival as well as on departure. There is no cap on the amount itself, only the obligation to report it.
What counts towards the $10,000 cash limit?
Physical currency in any denomination, plus bearer instruments such as travellers cheques and money orders. Foreign currency counts at its Australian-dollar equivalent. Money sitting on a debit or credit card does not count.
Can you split cash between travellers to stay under $10,000?
No. Dividing an amount between travelling companions to keep each person below the threshold is known as structuring, and it is an offence in itself - a more serious one than simply carrying the cash and declaring it.
Does money on a card count towards the declaration?
No. The report covers physical cash and bearer instruments only, so a balance on a travel card, debit card or credit card is outside it however large it is.
Money & payments
Carrying that much cash is usually a sign the card question is unsettled. A card with no foreign transaction fee is cheaper than the spread on airport cash, and safer to lose.
Compare cardsComing home to Australia
What is actually worth booking.
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.
Packing something else? The full A to Z of what you can take on a plane covers 61 items, the domestic flight rules set out what changes when you are not leaving the country, and the pre-departure checklist puts the rest of the trip in order.
Last reviewed 2 September 2026. Screening, dangerous-goods and biosecurity rules change, 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.