The NSW Government is moving to toughen laws against illicit tobacco and vape sellers — and the landlords who enable them — following a spate of violent attacks, including last year’s firebombing of a Ballina tobacconist.

Health Minister Ryan Park confirmed on Monday (September 1) that consultation will begin on creating new offences for landlords who knowingly lease premises to unlicensed retailers. The crackdown forms part of broader reforms targeting the booming black market in tobacco and vapes.

New powers and heavy penalties

If passed, the proposed laws would give authorities sweeping new powers, including:

• Fines of more than $1.5 million and up to seven years’ jail for selling or possessing commercial quantities of illicit tobacco.
  
• Short- and long-term closure orders for shops caught trading illegally.
  
• Lease termination powers for landlords where closure orders are in place.
  
• Offences for breaching closure orders or falsely claiming to be licensed.
  

“These reforms are about getting the balance right,” Mr Park said.
“The feedback I’ve received from small business, landlords and the community is that there is a real opportunity to smash illegal tobacconists through the people who knowingly let them trade.”

The measures follow last October’s dramatic attack in River Street, Ballina, when a stolen Mercedes was rammed through the front of a tobacconist and set alight. The fire destroyed the shop, damaged nearby cars, and forced residents of adjoining apartments to evacuate.

Enforcement ramp-up

From July to August this year, NSW Health inspectors carried out 201 raids across the state, seizing more than:

• 28,000 vapes and 4,300 nicotine pouches (street value: $990,000).
  
• 2.3 million cigarettes and 365kg of other illicit tobacco (street value: $2.5 million).
  

A new Centre for Regulation and Enforcement, staffed by 48 officers, has been established to drive compliance and will work closely with the state’s Illicit Tobacco Taskforce.

What’s next

The consultation process will involve landlords, retailers, health advocates, and enforcement agencies. Recommendations will be considered by the Taskforce in the coming months, with laws likely to be debated in state parliament before the end of the year.

Earlier story: Fire bomb attack on Ballina tobacconist becomes a flashpoint in the escalating fight against illegal tobacco