Infringement Notices
Infringement Notices were introduced on 1 April 2019. Customs officers are able to issue instant fines to anyone not complying with the law or Customs requirements.
What you need to know
- Infringement Notices replace the petty offences regime. They allow for a proportionate response to minor offending, and are more time and cost effective to process than the old petty offences regime.
- Infringement Notices came into effect 1 April 2019, and Customs officers are able to issue instant fines.
- The fine is $400 for an individual and $800 for a company.
- There are 70 offences. They are strict liability offences, which means you may have broken the law even if you didn't mean to.
View the infringement notices flyer (PDF, 925 KB) for details on Infringement Notices, your rights, and how to pay.
Who this impacts
- international arriving and departing passengers (air and sea)
- importers
- exporters
- excise manufacturers
- CCAs
- brokers.
What this means
As an example, anyone may be fined on the spot for not complying with requests from Customs officers if they are in a Customs-controlled area. This could be a:
- port
- airport
- storage or transit facility
- excisable goods manufacturing area.
More information
- Infringements
- Infringement offences (PDF, 94 KB)