New dedicated enforcement unit to tackle illicit tobacco

21 August 2025

The NSW Government has established a new dedicated enforcement unit to strengthen compliance and enforcement of tobacco and vaping laws across NSW.

The Centre for Regulation and Enforcement in NSW Health will comprise of a statewide team of 48 full-time equivalent staff. 

These staff will operate across metropolitan, rural, and remote locations to ensure a consistent, calibrated, and effective compliance approach.

The Centre for Regulation and Enforcement will work closely with the Australian Border Force, Police, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration on intelligence sharing, joint operations, and regulatory alignment, ensuring a unified approach to enforcement.

The establishment of the Centre aligns with and strengthens the NSW Government’s capacity to enforce tough new tobacco compliance reforms and the commencement of the tobacco licensing scheme, as well as support the work of the cross agency Illicit Tobacco Taskforce.

The new tobacco compliance reforms introduced to NSW Parliament will bring in some of the toughest penalties in the country for the sale and commercial possession of illicit tobacco and will grant substantial powers for inspectors to close premises found to be in breach of the new rules.

The NSW Government will also commence a targeted consultation on a new offence for landlords who knowingly lease their premises to illicit tobacco and vape suppliers.

These new penalties and offences will complement the tobacco licensing scheme which was commenced on 1 July and will take effect from 1 October following a three month grace period. 

The Centre for Regulation and Enforcement will work closely with the Illicit Tobacco Taskforce to continue to develop options and recommendations to strengthen compliance and enforcement activities in NSW to reduce the availability of illegal tobacco in the community.

From 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025, NSW Health:
  • conducted more than 700 retailer inspections and seized:
    • more than 90,000 nicotine vapes, e-liquids and pouches with an estimated street value around $2.9 million;
    • more than 6 million cigarettes and 1,100 kg of other illicit tobacco products with an estimated street value of around $6.8 million; and
  • issued around 150 penalty notices, totalling around $316,000.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park: 

“This government has introduced some of the toughest illegal tobacco penalties in Australia. 

“The creation of this new centre will ensure we have the tools and capabilities to back in our tough new illegal tobacco penalties. 

“This dedicated tobacco enforcement unit will centralise our personnel and resources to facilitate more coordinated and effective compliance operations right across the state.” ​