Australia
Therapeutic vapes only, sold through pharmacies. Retail sale outside pharmacies is banned.
- Nicotine limit
- 20 mg/ml for therapeutic vapes
- Flavours
- Restricted to tobacco, menthol and mint for therapeutic products
- Online sales
- Banned outside the pharmacy channel
- Tax
- Excise applies to nicotine vaping products
- Personal import
- Very limited; travellers' allowance only
- Status
- Prescription only
Australia took the hardest line of any market on this list, then softened the delivery mechanism without softening the rule.
The model
Vapes are treated as therapeutic goods, not consumer products. That means:
- They are supplied through pharmacies, to adults 18+, as an aid for nicotine dependence.
- Since 1 October 2024, adults can buy them from participating pharmacies without a prescription in much of the country — the pharmacy is the gatekeeper, not a doctor.
- Sale outside the pharmacy channel is illegal, including online, in convenience stores, and in vape shops. Import requires a TGA licence or permit.
- Therapeutic vapes are restricted to tobacco, menthol and mint flavours, and 20 mg/ml.
What travellers should know
The personal import pathway is narrow. A small quantity for personal use may be carried, but the default position is that bringing nicotine vapes in without authorisation is an offence. Do not assume the “it’s in my luggage” defence.
What it means for the market
Australia is effectively a closed consumer market with a legal pharmacy channel. Any content that tells readers where to buy cheap disposables is both useless and legally risky — the honest answer here is “through a pharmacy, or not at all”.