Julian Hill
Bruce · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“We want people to aspire to home ownership and to get into the housing market, and yet for the past 20 years it has felt like, however fast they save on the treadmill, house prices just race ahead twice as fast—and that's what the data shows. The opposition's policy depends on who you ask.”
“For those listening at home, Narrabundah is a pretty wealthy suburb in Canberra. He was standing in front of a flat this morning that, in 2006, sold for $420,000. The asking price today is $900,000. He thinks that's not a problem. He thinks nothing needs to change.”
“One of the things that we've been hearing over the last couple of weeks, out in the community—I was at the Berwick market on Sunday morning; around Dandenong at lunchtime—is the question of house prices. What's going to happen with house prices with the government's tax changes? I want to make a couple of points.”
“The definition of insanity, of course, is doing the same thing and expecting a different result, which is what we see from the Liberal Party. Actually, I'm going to contradict myself; I'll finish on this point. They do have one policy for housing: super for housing.”
“Seven out of 10 for performance art. There were a few questions I was actually looking forward to responding to, but unfortunately the opposition chose to call a bunch of silly divisions and has eaten into the time, so we've run out of time. Proposed expenditure agreed to.”
“The truth is, from when the government was elected four years ago, debt is in a better place. It's lower, deficits are lower and the debt-to-GDP ratio is lower. The fact is—and you can see it in the budget papers in black and white—the budget is in far, far better shape than the mess that the Liberals left behind.”
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“The definition of insanity, of course, is doing the same thing and expecting a different result, which is what we see from the Liberal Party. Actually, I'm going to contradict myself; I'll finish on this point. They do have one policy for housing: super for housing. The gold medal policy for stupidity would be to let people drain their retirement savings and push up the cost of housing. It'd be like pouring petrol on a bin fire. So I say very clearly to young Australians that the government's tax changes are about giving you a fair go at getting into the housing market. The Liberal Party think nothing should change.”
“For those listening at home, Narrabundah is a pretty wealthy suburb in Canberra. He was standing in front of a flat this morning that, in 2006, sold for $420,000. The asking price today is $900,000. He thinks that's not a problem. He thinks nothing needs to change. If the opposition want to keep everything the same, I say things have to change. The government's policies and changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax will see 75,000 more Australians be able to enter the home market and give homebuyers and first home buyers a fair go against investors. The opposition says they want to keep everything the same. The first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem. It's about time the Liberal Party admitted that there was a problem in the housing market. It's fundamentally cooked and unfair.”
“We want people to aspire to home ownership and to get into the housing market, and yet for the past 20 years it has felt like, however fast they save on the treadmill, house prices just race ahead twice as fast—and that's what the data shows. The opposition's policy depends on who you ask. Some of them go on TV and say, 'We want house prices to go up.' Others go on TV and say, 'We want house prices to go down'. I'll tell you what my position is and what the government's position is. I want to see wages in this country grow faster than the price of housing. We have to repair that ratio for the next generation, to give them a fair chance at owning a house, and so we want to see real wage growth rising faster than house prices once again. We saw the opposition leader, Mr Taylor, out in Narrabundah today.”
“One of the things that we've been hearing over the last couple of weeks, out in the community—I was at the Berwick market on Sunday morning; around Dandenong at lunchtime—is the question of house prices. What's going to happen with house prices with the government's tax changes? I want to make a couple of points. What we have seen with respect to house prices over the past 20 years is completely unsustainable. House prices have risen twice as fast as wages. House prices in Australia have risen twice as fast as incomes. That's completely unsustainable for any society. First and foremost, housing is a good that you need people to live in.”
“Seven out of 10 for performance art. There were a few questions I was actually looking forward to responding to, but unfortunately the opposition chose to call a bunch of silly divisions and has eaten into the time, so we've run out of time. Proposed expenditure agreed to.”
“If your community and your aunties and uncles are worried about losing their benefits when they've paid taxes in Australia for decades, then, yes, they'd be mad not to apply for citizenship. And, frankly, I think that's what's going to happen in the coming weeks and months. Any permanent resident of Australia eligible to apply for citizenship would be mad not to consider applying now to protect themselves and their family. I'll finish on this point. Permanent residents have often spent decades in Australia paying taxes and making contributions. They're part of every facet of Australian life. Many of them are just our future citizens. The idea that you take family payments away from a family when the kids are Australian citizens is just ridiculous. It pushes children into poverty.”
“To be very clear, there are already 10-year waiting periods for a non-citizen or a citizen to collect an Australian pension when you move here. There are already waiting periods of many, many years before you're eligible for any of these things. Overwhelmingly, permanent residents aren't even eligible for the first few years, and they can become citizens. There are not billions of dollars of savings in this. That's why they won't put out a costed policy. This is a giant dog whistle. But if Australians of Chinese heritage are worried about losing their family payments and their pensions, then, yes, apply for citizenship. Frankly, that's what we're expecting to happen. The first Sri Lankan born member of the Australian parliament grew up in my electorate. Deputy Speaker Fernando, you taught yourself English. I know your story.”
“If Australians of Indian heritage want to apply for citizenship because they're eligible, they're paying tax, they're contributing and their kids are Australian citizens, then that's a difficult choice because it means they can no longer travel to and from their home country, their ancestral country, as easily to see parents and family. But that's a choice I think tens of thousands of people will make in the coming months to make sure they're safe. I read the words that the Liberal opposition leader said in his budget reply speech—not the spin and the clean-up they're trying to put out there. I'd also observe that there are no costings to this policy. There's no detail. It's a dog whistle to One Nation and a thought bubble.”
“One of the questions I often ask when we do a bit of a hands-up is: how long have you lived here? I find people who've lived here for 60, 65, 70 years—one bloke, after 72 years, finally got around to it. There was no reason. It took him a while to do the paperwork. There you go. They've paid taxes. They've worked here. They're good Australians in every other respect. As Home Affairs is prepared for a surge in citizenship applications, I've heard from New Zealanders, from Kiwis, and, frankly, I can't tell them not to apply for citizenship. I'd encourage them to apply for citizenship. And, frankly, in many respects, they'd be mad not to. If the Liberal Party wants to come after their family payments and their pensions, then, yes, it's a very rational thing to get on the website and apply for citizenship.”
“My office has had numerous inquiries in the last two weeks from people worried about their family situation. They've been asking about applying for Australian citizenship. I'm a minister in the Home Affairs department. We are prepared for a surge in citizenship applications now. If that's what people want to do, we'll meet that. I welcome permanent residents of the country applying for citizenship. Applying for citizenship is a welcome act of patriotism to me. It's not something to be made ever more difficult and demonised, as those opposite or many on their extreme fringe do. I want people to confirm their commitment to their country, the place that is already their home, and in often cases for decades. Deputy Speaker Fernando, you do citizenship ceremonies with me.”
“For example, in your home country of Sri Lanka, you have Singaporean-Chinese heritage, many family members consciously make a choice for decades that one half of the couple, the husband or the wife, will be an Australian citizen with the kids and the other will maintain an ancestral home country citizen, because that's how they can own their mum's property they might have owned for generations. That's so they can come and go efficiently to care for their ageing parents. That's so they can operate businesses that create jobs and national wealth in Australia. These are deliberate choices. But since this budget reply, the news has spread that the Liberals will take family payments and pensions away from permanent residents of Australia.”
“They're the parents of Australian citizens. They live in the same households. There are lots of reasons that people who are permanent residents have not become Australian citizens. They might be waiting for one more year till they're eligible. They might not have got around to it. Yes, there's a cohort there. There are also those who have the very difficult choice that, when they become a citizen, they'll lose their ancestral country citizenship. For most people in the modern world, they can become an Australian citizen and remain a citizen of another country, just like Australians can when they go to other countries and marry and fall in love. But there are many who can't. They have to make a choice. That choice means that they can no longer own their ancestral property.”
“Who are the permanent residents of our country? Who are these noncitizens the Liberals want to go after? They're doctors, builders, nurses, teachers, aged-care workers, volunteers down at the footy club, your co-workers and valued community members. Overwhelmingly, these permanent residents of Australia have lived here for years or, in some cases, decades or just about their entire lives. They pay taxes—billions of dollars in taxes. They contribute to the country. There are over 150,000 of them. They're parents, partners and children of Australians. There are over 600,000 Kiwis who've been living in this country for years or decades, working and paying taxes. For all intents and purposes, they consider themselves Australian. As I said, many of these permanent residents are married to Australians. They're the children of Australians.”
“I'll quote the opposition leader: Tonight, I announce that a coalition government will reserve the NDIS and 17 different welfare programs, including JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and the family tax benefit, for Australian citizens only, and save taxpayers billions. There's no doubt that, instinctively, that is popular. The picture they're painting is of all these nasty migrants coming into the country to get benefits. Temporary residents of Australia do not get benefits, to be very clear. Let's understand the proposal of the Liberals to cut 17 payments from permanent residents of the country. That includes family payments, the age pension, youth allowance, parent payments and carers' payments. I quote the opposition leader: … if you don't want to become a citizen, there's a price you pay for that. Let's understand this.”
“Some of it was because we had the lowest average unemployment for 50 years and fewer people left because the labour market was so strong. But some of it was because of rorts in the migration system, and we've made tough decisions to tighten its integrity. Because of the government's work, net overseas migration has fallen by more than 45 per cent since the peak that we inherited soon after the election, and it will fall further. But there was this giant dog whistle. I want to talk about this because it affects people in your electorate, Deputy Speaker Fernando, and in mine and right across the country. It was their plan to cut benefits from permanent residents of Australia.”
“Instead, what we got was this weird, angry magic-pudding grab bag of uncosted thought bubbles and massive cuts outlined but with no costings and no detail. This, of course, was the genius mob, the Liberals, who took tax rises to the last election. In its own way it was as dystopian as Peter Dutton's last effort, but for a different reason. It wasn't designed to scare people before an election, which was his tactic. It was a blind-panic response and a flawed effort to out-Pauline Pauline. It was a giant dog whistle to One Nation. On migration, it's a fact that the government inherited in 2022 a set of policies on migration that saw migration rise soon after that election to unsustainable highs. Some of that was because the borders reopened post COVID and people came in.”
“The truth is, from when the government was elected four years ago, debt is in a better place. It's lower, deficits are lower and the debt-to-GDP ratio is lower. The fact is—and you can see it in the budget papers in black and white—the budget is in far, far better shape than the mess that the Liberals left behind. Decisions in this budget mean that we are saving more than we're spending compared to the mid-year update just six months ago. The budget bottom line is $45 billion better off over the forwards compared to the mid-year update six months ago. This is more than a quarter of a trillion dollars better than what the coalition left behind. I'd contrast that with the opposition leader's budget reply speech. It should have been delivered by Sussan Ley. They knifed her. She didn't even get a chance to deliver a budget reply speech.”
“At the same time that we're making these critical investments in supporting people now, setting the country up with fuel security plans and made-in-Australia plans for resilience in the face of global shocks and helping the next generation get into the housing market—75,000 more Australians will be able to buy their own home with these changes—we're building a stronger budget with lower deficits and less debt to help take pressure off inflation and interest rates, therefore, and build our fiscal buffers during global uncertainty. Strong fiscal discipline is even more important at a time of heightened global uncertainty, and that's exactly what this budget delivers. They don't like to hear it on the other side, but responsible economic and fiscal management has been a defining feature of this government in every budget.”
“Australia has not been building enough houses. This takes the Homes for Australia plan to over $47 billion invested, as well as securing social housing for more than 4,000 eligible young people at risk of homelessness, with $59 million more for the states and territories. We're halving the fuel excise, reducing the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero for three months and doubling penalties for breaches of major consumer laws. In health, we're making health care more accessible and affordable. A big one for our area—my and other electorates in south-east Melbourne—is making Medicare urgent care clinics a permanent part of Australia's health system and Medicare system. The clinics in Narre Warren and Dandenong will now be permanent, making medicines cheaper and making major investments in public hospitals.”
“It's only 250 bucks now, but what it does is set up an architecture in the tax system for the first time to be able to target tax cuts now and in the future to those who go to work for a living—a tax cut directed specifically at workers. It is part of the big overarching theme of more fairly balancing the taxation in this country between income earnt from work, from labour, and income earnt, quite legitimately, from other sources—investments and capital gains and so on. We're increasing the Medicare low income thresholds, reforming the tax system to support 75,000 more homeowners into the housing market and investing an extra $2 billion for that enabling infrastructure to support up to 65,000 more homes to be built. Fundamentally, the housing crisis is a supply problem that's built up over generations.”
“There are now five different ways that the Labor government is cutting income taxes. That contrasts with the Liberals, who took tax rises to the last election. Then they made the shadow treasurer, the bloke who was the genius mastermind of that little escapade, their leader. This budget sees rolling out legislated tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer this year and next year, delivering new and permanent income tax cuts for every Australian worker with the $250 working Australians tax offset, along with the $1,000 instant tax deduction for workers and small businesses. The working Australian tax offset is really important to understand. Yes, I get it.”
“I want to contrast the government's budget with the opposition's chaos and cuts. This is a responsible budget. It's focused on relief now, resilience for the country in the face of global shocks and reform to set us up for success in the future, particularly for the next generation. It's a tough environment globally and for many in Australia. The conflict in the Middle East is weighing heavily on our economy and compounding the cost-of-living pressures experienced by too many Australians. The budget is about delivering more cost-of-living help and building a more productive economy, a better tax system and a fairer housing market with a stronger and more sustainable budget. I'll just summarise some of the ways the budget is helping with the cost of living. First is tax cuts.”
“The tariff concession is just one part of Australia's big package of defence, economic and humanitarian support and a sign of our ongoing and steadfast support for Ukraine and its people. These amendments are consistent with the alterations made by Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 2) 2026, moved in the House of Representatives on 14 May 2026. Finally, the bill also makes certain unglamorous but important technical amendments to schedule 6A of the act, which provide for preferential rates of customs duty for goods that are originating under the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement. The amendments remove spent phasing rates and as such do not alter the operation of the Customs Tariff Act. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned.”
“Australia is committed to upholding these principles, which are necessary for Australia's international, regional and domestic stability and security. These amendments are also consistent with the alterations made by Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 2) 2025, moved in the House of Representatives on 28 August 2025. The third set of amendments extend the temporary 'free' rate of customs duty applied to goods that are the produce or manufacture of Ukraine for a further 24 months. The 'free' rate of duty applies to all Ukrainian goods, except for petroleum, fuel, tobacco and alcohol products. The extension of the concessional treatment supports Ukraine's continued participation in international trade.”
“This government is reducing more customs duty rates to 'free' because we recognise that it delivers benefits to Australian businesses and to the Australian consumer. The second set of amendments extends the temporary additional customs duty on goods that are the produce or manufacture of Russia and Belarus for a further 24 months. The temporary 35 per cent duty applies in addition to the general rate of customs duty that would ordinarily apply. In applying this measure, Australia has joined with like-minded countries in response to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, supported by Belarus. As Russia continues to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and undermine the rules based international order, this measure is necessary for Australia's essential security interests.”
“In fact, across the two measures, the customs duty rates for almost 1,000 tariff headings and subheadings permanently set to 'free' will streamline around $23 billion worth of trade and save business $157 million annually in compliance costs. Amendments will also be made to the corresponding free trade agreement preferential rates to ensure they are not higher than the general rate of duty. This ensures that importers utilising free trade agreements are not disadvantaged by the unilateral reduction of the general rate. These amendments are consistent with the alterations made by Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2026, which I moved in the House of Representatives on 14 May 2026. While other countries are putting up trade barriers, we are tearing trade barriers down. We're reducing them.”
“Eliminating customs duty for these classifications will reduce business compliance costs and make it easier to import a range of goods, including foodstuffs, homewares, items of clothing and personal hygiene goods. Cumulatively, these amendments, together with similar amendments made in 2024, have reduced the customs duty rates for almost 1,000 tariff classifications. The Albanese government has reduced to 'free' the general rates of customs duty for more tariff classifications than any other government in the last two decades. Reducing the duty rates for these additional tariff classifications helps to cut red tape and reduces compliance costs for Australian businesses.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals) Bill (No. 1) 2026, or the bill, amends the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to incorporate the measures in two customs tariff proposals moved in the House of Representatives in May this year and another proposal that was moved in August 2025. The bill also makes certain minor technical amendments to the Customs Tariff Act. The first set of amendments repeals the general rates of duty for almost 500 tariff classifications and replaces these rates with 'free'. These tariff classifications were selected because the majority of importers utilise relevant tariff concessions or free trade agreement preferential rates, which in practice reduce the five per cent duty rate to a 'free' rate of duty.”
“I move: Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 2) 2026. Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 2) 2026 amends section 18B of the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to continue the concessional customs duty arrangements for goods produced or manufactured in Ukraine for an additional two years. Since 4 July 2022, most Ukraine-originating goods, apart from petroleum fuel, tobacco and alcohol products, have been eligible for a customs duty rate of free. This measure was scheduled to cease on 3 July 2026 but, as a result of the proposed alteration, will now remain in place until 3 July 2028. Maintaining the concessional tariff arrangements helps sustain Ukraine's engagement in global trade and reflects Australia's ongoing commitment to supporting Ukraine and its people. This tariff measure complements Australia's wider defence, economic and humanitarian assistance efforts.”
“Schedule 14 is the only free trade agreement schedule to the Customs Tariff Act under which preferential customs duty rates have not yet been incrementally reduced to 'free' for some of the 500 tariff headings and subheadings affected by this measure. Debate adjourned.”
“Those goods classified under the approximately 500 tariff classifications have been selected for this measure because very few, if any, importers pay the five per cent general duty rate as a result of the widespread use of tariff concessions and preferential rates available for these goods. To meet Australia's free trade commitments, this proposal also amends schedule 14 to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to ensure Australia complies with its Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, RCEP, obligations, ensuring that preferential rates of customs duty imposed on RCEP-originating goods that fall within the scope of this measure are not higher than the general rate of duty.”
“I move: Custom Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2026. The customs tariff proposal that I have tabled eliminates the five per cent general customs duty rate imposed on goods under approximately 500 tariff classifications, making them 'free'. The reduced rates will commence on 1 July 2026. This change simplifies the importation of a range of goods, including certain household and consumer wares, personal care products, clothing and textiles. By removing duties where concessions are already widely used, we are reducing red tape for businesses, lowering costs for Australians and boosting productivity.”
“These amendments will ensure national consistency when protecting information related to restraining orders, enabling law enforcement to target criminal networks across Australia while protecting the integrity of each individual proceeding. Conclusion This bill comes at a critical time in Australia's fight to contain and reverse the growth of the illicit tobacco market. Every seizure, every prosecution, every licence suspension and every dollar seized from a criminal under proceeds of crime powers adds friction and puts the illicit market under further pressure. Increasing penalties and strengthening Commonwealth laws are critical to ensure Australia can continue to deter, disrupt and prevent the further growth of the illicit tobacco market, which will support the health and wellbeing of the Australian community.”
“These amendments recognise the importance of cross-border cooperation and will ensure that national efforts to confiscate proceeds of crime see equitable sharing across all states and territories. These amendments will strengthen our law enforcement partnerships, and the national response to combat illicit tobacco. The nature of organised crime and sophistication of cross-border networks is increasingly challenging. Reforms will be introduced to ensure that law enforcement can serve documents under the Proceeds of Crime Act across Australia in a consistent manner, instead of having to satisfy, as they currently do, the individual requirements and differing requirements of each state and territory. Further, additional grounds for a making a non-publication order will be enacted into the Proceeds of Crime Act.”
“The provision of Proceeds of Crime Act investigation information to bodies like AUSTRAC, ASIC and APRA for a regulatory purpose will see further results. Similarly, law enforcement will benefit from the modernisation of the existing Proceeds of Crime Act search warrant framework. When the Proceeds of Crime Act was enacted in 2002, its search warrant framework mirrored the Crimes Act at that point. However, since then, the Crimes Act has evolved, leading to inefficiencies and inconsistent powers for the Federal Police. This bill will recalibrate and realign our legislation, ensuring law enforcement has the same powers and can focus on their job—to seize the proceeds of crime. Amendments will also be made to the Proceeds of Crime Act to enable law enforcement to effectively target unexplained wealth.”
“The reforms will enable information obtained through Proceeds of Crime Act investigations to be shared with other Commonwealth regulators, ensuring that our regulatory bodies can identify, and take action against, professional facilitators that continue to assist criminal actors. This recognises the important role of our regulatory bodies and acknowledges the need for a coordinated, whole-of-government response to combat illicit tobacco markets. The work that AUSTRAC and the banks are doing to shut down the money flows that keep illicit tobacco profitable is critical to disrupt the trade. Hundreds of high-risk bank accounts have already been reviewed and closed down along with the merchant services and private ATMs withdrawn, alongside a sharp increase in suspicious transaction reporting and strengthened controls.”
“Targeting illicit profits Second, the reforms will ensure Australia's proceeds of crime regime provides law enforcement with more techniques to prevent offenders from benefiting from the criminal profits generated from illicit tobacco, empowering law enforcement to hit criminals where it hurts. Prosecutions remain import, but they can be slow and expensive. What really hurts the criminals is taking their houses, their cars, their cash, their boats and their toys. The bill will clarify, streamline and strengthen existing information-gathering and confiscation mechanisms, to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement outcomes.”
“Increasing penalties will also enable more effective investigatory powers to be used on a broader range of illicit tobacco offences, including computer access and surveillance capabilities under the Surveillance Devices Act 2004. Additional amendments will also enable telecommunications interception powers to be used by listing tobacco offences as serious offences under section 5D of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act. This will enable law enforcement and intelligence agencies to seek telecommunications interception warrants for investigation of these offences.”
“Law enforcement will gain consistent and expanded powers to target proceeds of crime, unexplained wealth and tainted property. There are two overarching elements of these reforms. Changing the risk calculation for criminal actors First, rebalancing of the risk-to-reward calculation for criminal actors involved in the illicit tobacco market by increasing the consequences. This will be achieved through amendments to the Customs Act, the Excise Act, the Taxation Administration Act and the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act. These amendments increase the penalties for offences relating to the importation, possession, buying, selling, supply, production or manufacture of illicit tobacco.”
“Australians are rightly sick to death of the sleazy, illegal shopfronts that now litter every high street in every city and every town. Brazen criminals must not be allowed to operate in plain sight, and the government is working with and supporting the states and territories to shut down the illegal shops and disrupt the trade. Let me turn to the specifics of this bill which will amend the Customs Act 1901, the Excise Act 1901, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Taxation Administration Act 1953 , and the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 toensure that the penalties reflect the severity of harm caused by the illicit tobacco trade on the Australian community and provide an even stronger deterrent from engaging in unlawful dealings that threaten our communities and public health.”
“This bill is a critical step to strengthen Commonwealth laws and increase penalties to make the consequences much greater for criminals, target unexplained wealth, and activate enhanced law enforcement techniques, like wiretaps and other powerful tools to track and disrupt criminal networks. This fight really matters. Smoking still kills on average 66 Australians every day and accounts for 20 per cent of the nation's cancer disease burden. Two out of every three long-term smokers will die of a tobacco related illness. If our society does not turn the tide on this illicit market then we risk a new generation of Australians getting hooked on tobacco—a costly public health disaster for all Australians, as billions of dollars would then get diverted in the health system to deal with the consequences.”
“The latest official estimates in the ITEC commissioner's 2024-25 annual report are sobering: What used to be seen as a health and revenue issue has now morphed into a serious and organised crime problem. A massive global surplus of cheap supply of tobacco has been weaponised by transnational serious organised crime groups across the Middle East, South-East Asia and the Pacific, operating like multinational businesses, investing capital in what they perceive as a 'high profit and low risk' situation. This equation needs to be reversed to make illegal tobacco less profitable and more risky for the criminals involved.”
“(): I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The Combatting Illicit Tobacco Bill 2026 will increase the consequences for criminal actors involved in the illicit tobacco market and enhance law enforcement's powers to investigate. These reforms are part of broader efforts by the Australian government, and states and territories, to strengthen the fight against illicit tobacco. Illicit tobacco poses significant risks to Australia's public health and community safety. 'Cheap smokes' are everywhere with a now ridiculously ubiquitous retail distribution network. You'd have to have your eyes glued shut not to recognise that this is a problem, and anyone who says otherwise is either deluded or lying.”
“This change will support the government's priorities of growing the Australian economy and supporting Australian businesses by implementing a means to further combat the economic, community safety and criminal risks of the trade in counterfeit goods. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned.”
“This reform will support a more prosperous and reputable retail sector and retain consumer confidence in Australian retailers and products. This is a change that Australian trademark owners have been calling for. They've called for more deterrents for counterfeiters importing fraudulent goods, to reduce the financial burden that small and medium businesses must bear to bring expensive civil litigation. The Australian government is listening to the needs of legitimate businesses and ensuring their interests are protected, not undercut by importers who bring fake products that fail Australian safety standards.”
“Any infringement action would only occur after the importers of counterfeit goods have been identified through the existing compliance processes. When products are seized, the Australian Border Force officer has discretion to levy an infringement notice, taking into consideration factors such as first-time offences, genuine mistakes of fact, the quantity of goods and the type of goods. Alongside the proposed changes, the Australian Border Force has already put in place complementary measures to request evidence of legitimacy if individuals want to claim their seized goods back. There will be no new regulatory impacts on lawful importers or border industries as part of the bill. This reform will support Australian businesses by protecting their legitimate intellectual property rights.”
“Any goods can be counterfeited, and the potential for harm from consumer goods, such as phone chargers, beauty products, pharmaceuticals or vehicle parts, is severe. Those who import commercial quantities of high-risk consumer products will be targeted by the new laws. Consumers buying counterfeit and pirated goods are not only receiving a flawed and potentially dangerous product but are also supporting the black market. The sale of counterfeit and pirated goods is often linked with the funding of criminal enterprises. Making the importation of counterfeit goods an infringeable offence would allow the Australian government to directly impact the profits of counterfeiters. This would provide an additional deterrent alongside the current process of civil litigation.”
“This will bring the importation of counterfeit goods within scope of the Infringement Notice Scheme under the Customs Act 1901 as administered by the Australian Border Force. The bill also includes amendments to the Customs Regulation 2015 that enable Australian Border Force officers to issue infringement notices as an alternative to prosecution for the new offence. As a strict liability offence, only the physical element of the offence must be proven. This aligns this reform with existing laws in the Copyright Act 1968, which already contains a strict liability offence for breaches of copyright. This reform is necessary, as counterfeit products pose a significant consumer safety risk.”
“I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The Australian government is committed to protecting Australians from dangerous fake goods and protecting the rights of genuine businesses from fraud and intellectual property theft. This change toughens existing regulatory measures that exist to deter and penalise those who bring counterfeit items into our country. In the 2024-25 financial year, over 700,000 individual counterfeit items were seized at the border. Had the items been genuine, their estimated value is over $35 million. The Customs Legislation Amendment (False Trade Marks Infringement Notices) Bill 2026 will create a new strict liability offence for importing goods with false trademarks—that is, counterfeit goods.”
“The revenue received supports other critical national policing information systems and services, including the National Criminal Intelligence System. These systems and services enable police and other partner agencies to perform their core functions to keep the community safe. This bill will allow the ACIC to continue to provide these national policing information services in an adaptable and fiscally sustainable way. I commend the bill. Debate adjourned.”