Tourist Refund Scheme

The sun, the surf, the shopping! Australia has enough temptations on offer to keep the credit card running hot. But there's no need to stress, because there is a little known scheme that might help take the bite out of the credit card bill.

The Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) lets you claim a refund on the goods and services tax (GST) and wine equalisation tax (WET) on goods you have bought in Australia. It is not 'duty-free' shopping, which is where you need to actually leave the country before you use the goods you have bought. The TRS allows you to use the items you buy, but then get certain amounts back.

To get the tourist refund, you are subject to certain conditions. You need to:

• spend $300 (GST inclusive) or more in the one store
• buy goods no more than 60 days before departure
• be sure the retailer will provide you with a tax invoice to present to the TRS officer. All stores registered for GST will be able to give you a tax invoice. A refund cannot be given without it.
• wear or carry the goods on board the aircraft or ship and present them along with your original tax invoice, passport and international boarding pass to a Customs officer at a TRS facility within the airport.

You can buy several items from one store over a number of days in the 60-day period, as long as the total purchase adds up to $300 GST inclusive or more. You may buy goods from several stores, as long as each store's tax invoice totals at least $300 (GST inclusive).

How much will I get back?
The GST refund: Divide the total amount of the purchase by 11.
The WET refund: 14.5% of the price paid for wine.

You can collect your refund through one of the following methods:

• cheque (posted within 15 business days)
• credit to an Australian bank account (issued within five business days subject to issuer)
• payment to a credit card

What can I buy?
The refund only applies to goods you can take with you as hand luggage or wear onto the aircraft or ship when you leave Australia, which are subject to aviation security measures.

It does not apply to:

• services, or
• goods consumed or partly consumed in Australia, such as wine, chocolate or perfume.

Unlike 'duty-free' or tax-free shopping – where you are unable to use the goods within Australia – most goods under the TRS such as clothing, cameras and electrical equipment can be used in Australia prior to departure.  Check with your airline to find out what you can and cannot take on-board as hand luggage before going to the airport.

Who can use it?
The TRS is open to all overseas visitors and Australian residents, with the exception of air and sea crew.

How do I do it?
At the airport: Once you've cleared Customs and Immigration, TRS facilities can be found at the international airports at Darwin, Perth, Cairns, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

At seaports: Cruise liner terminals have TRS facilities at the seaports of Circular Quay and Darling Harbour in Sydney, Melbourne's Station Pier and also Darwin, Brisbane, Cairns, Hobart and Fremantle. Contact customs to find out if you can, and where to make a claim.

It will only take a few minutes to process the claim, but no-one likes holding up their flights (or worse yet, missing it altogether), so make sure you leave plenty of time to get to the airport, check-in, clear customs, buy the duty-free perfume you promised your Auntie... and queue-up to make your TRS claim.

At the:

• Airport you have up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight to make your claim.
• Seaport, claims cannot be made earlier than four hours and no later than one hour prior to the scheduled departure time of the vessel.

It is a legal requirement that the person who purchases the goods must be the person who makes the claim for a refund of GST.

What if I want to bring my new goodies back into Australia?
So... you're heading off to Mexico and you've bought a new camera for the trip, knowing that you can claim the GST back on the TRS. Great! But... can you then bring the camera back into the country?

Well... if it cost more than $1000, it may actually be subject to GST when you bring them back in. If...

• the value of the goods you want to bring back into Australia, plus
• your overseas purchases, plus
• goods bought in Australia duty-free or tax-free

...exceed the passenger duty-free concession limits, then the goods must be declared to a Customs and Border protection officer on your return to Australia.

Australian duty free allowances, concessions
Age	General goods limit (gifts, souvenirs, cameras, electronic equipment, leather goods, perfume concentrates, jewellery, watches and sporting equipment)	Alcohol (all alcohol in accompanied baggage is included in this category, regardless of where or how it was purchased)	Tobacco (all tobacco products in accompanied baggage are included in this category, regardless of where or how they were purchased)
18 years or over	$900	2.25 litres of alcohol duty-free	50 cigarettes, or 50 grams of cigars or tobacco products duty-free
Under 18 years	$450	n/a	n/a

These goods can be:

• obtained overseas
• purchased in Australia duty or tax free before departure
• goods for which a tax refund has been approved through the Tourist Refund Scheme
• purchased from an inwards duty free shop on arrival.

One really important point: if you exceed the duty-free concession limits you will be charged tax and duties on all the items of that type (general goods, alcohol or tobacco), not just items which exceed the limits. Ouch. And don't think about trying to sneak your goods through – if you don't declare the goods in excess of your concession you will be penalised.

Personal goods such as new clothing, footwear, and personal hygiene and grooming items can be brought back into Australia in your baggage, duty and tax-free. This excludes furs and perfumes.

If you owned the items for more than 12 months, or you will only be in Australia temporarily they are also tax free.

If in doubt, contact the Customs Information and Support Centre on 1300 363 263 from Australia only, or if overseas call +61 2 6275 6666. You can also email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Last reviewed 17/04/2013

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