Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) has received advice from Australian Border Force (ABF) via ACN 2026/32 advising that customs duty rates for tobacco and tobacco products will increase from 1 September 2026 following the biannual indexation based on the Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings (AWOTE) figure released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The September 2026 AWOTE indexation factor is 1.016, based on the June AWOTE figure of 2083.70 compared with the previous benchmark AWOTE figure of 2051.10. As the indexation factor exceeds one, customs duty rates for tobacco products subject to excise-equivalent customs duty will increase accordingly.
Key examples include:- Tobacco products subject to a per kilogram rate increasing to $2,587.90 per kilogram (or per kilogram of tobacco content).
- Tobacco products subject to a per stick rate increasing to $1.55274 per stick.
The revised duty rates apply across Schedule 3 and Schedules 4A to 16 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995, including goods imported under Australia's various Free Trade Agreements where excise-equivalent customs duty applies.
The updated rates take effect from 1 September 2026 and follow the methodology introduced under the Customs Tariff Amendment (Tobacco) Act 2024, which provides for biannual adjustments to tobacco duty rates.
Read more HERELucy Robinson - Licensed Customs Broker
Head of Border, Biosecurity & Logistics - FTA / APSA
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