Medicinal Cannabis Into Australia: Traveller's Exemption

Do not count on the personal importation scheme. It does not cover this: cannabis and goods containing it are excluded, because the substance is prohibited under the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956. The traveller's exemption is the only route for a person carrying it in their bag.

What the exemption asks for

Why 'prescription' is a stricter test than it sounds

The TGA says the exemption does not specify the country of origin of the prescription, but requires a prescription from a medical practitioner and supply to the person in accordance with it, for example by dispensing through a pharmacist. It notes that a prescription is a higher standard of documentary evidence than the written authority needed for non-controlled substances, and that medicinal cannabis is often provided abroad by mechanisms other than a prescription, which may not meet the Regulations.

On the TGA's wording, a card, a licence or a clinic recommendation without a dispensed prescription is unlikely to satisfy that test. Verdex found no Australian Border Force statement on the point.

Landing is not the end: the state layer

• Prescription and dispensing label: carry both, showing the product, quantity and dose.
• Count the months: work out the supply on the prescription and stay within three months.
• Vape kit: no more than 2 devices and 20 unfilled cartridges, capsules or pods.
• Call ahead: the state or territory health department for the place you land.
• Long stays: if you will need more than three months, the local route is a prescriber and the pathways in our SAS B and AP explainer.

Recreational cannabis is a different matter: importing it is a Commonwealth offence with penalties set out in our state-by-state guide. Vape rules are covered in our approved devices note, and driving rules for patients in our NSW reform report.