Can you take cigarettes and tobacco on a plane?
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.
On the plane itself there is nothing to think about. Cigarettes and tobacco are not dangerous goods, so they are unrestricted in both carry-on and checked baggage, on a domestic flight and an international one alike. The lighter is the regulated part, not the cigarettes - one small lighter, carried on your person.
The rule that actually costs money is the one at the other end: Australia’s duty-free tobacco concession is one unopened packet of up to 25 cigarettes or 25 grams of tobacco, plus one open packet, for travellers aged 18 and over. There is no concession at all for under-18s.
And the excess is not charged the way people assume. Go over the allowance and duty is payable on the whole quantity, not just the part above 25 grams. That is what turns a cheap duty-free carton into an expensive one, and it is the single most useful thing to know before you buy.
Flying within Australia? This rule does not change.
This is a dangerous-goods rule, so it is identical on a domestic flight.
Two rules explain most of this page. Lithium batteries fly in the cabin so the crew can reach them, and the 100ml liquid limit is an international rule. Your flight home is screened under the departure country's rules, which are sometimes stricter than Australia's.
Cigarettes and tobacco: common questions
Can you take cigarettes on a domestic flight in Australia?
Yes, with no restriction. Cigarettes and tobacco are not dangerous goods, so they travel in either carry-on or checked baggage on domestic flights. Only the lighter is limited: one small lighter, carried on your person.
Can you take tobacco on a plane?
Yes. Carrying tobacco on the aircraft is unrestricted in both bags. What matters is the import allowance at your destination, and Australia’s own duty-free limit when you return.
How many cigarettes can you bring into Australia duty free?
One unopened packet of up to 25 cigarettes or 25 grams of tobacco, plus one open packet, for travellers aged 18 and over. There is no tobacco concession at all for travellers under 18.
What happens if you bring in more than the duty-free tobacco allowance?
Duty becomes payable on the entire quantity, not only the amount above the allowance. This is why buying a carton duty free often works out more expensive than it looks - declare it and expect to pay on all of it.
Can you put cigarettes in checked baggage?
Yes. There is no aviation restriction on cigarettes or tobacco in either bag. Lighters and matches are the items with real limits, and those must stay out of checked baggage.
Flying soon? Screening is the easy part
What stops Australians at the airport is more often the passport, the visa or the phone than the bag. Say where you are going and we will show you the entry rules for an Australian passport, what an eSIM actually costs there, and what the insurance covers.
Smoking & fire
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.