Small quantities of cannabis imported legally into Australia are no longer subject to physical inspection under certain conditions.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has allowed for dried cannabis plant parts other than seed to be imported in 10g packaging size without inspection.
“Packaging limitation of 10g per package has been determined to be a suitable remedial option to sufficiently mitigate the biosecurity risks associated with dried Cannabis plant parts other than seed,” says a DAFF notification about the change.
The product must be in ready for sale retail packaging up to 10g per package. Qualifying cannabis products may be released without inspection when accompanied by satisfactory documentation identifying the product, commercially packaged and weight.
If the consignment is not accompanied by satisfactory documentation, then it will be subject to a full unpack and inspection to enusure it is free from contaminant seed, live insects, soil and other biosecurity risk material. Such inspections can cause contamination locally, particularly concerning if the product is being used medicinally.
The change in rules came into effect in mid-September 2025.
There’s probably an efficiency aspect to this change. Cannabis imports into Australia have been booming. Imports into Australia under (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (PI Regulations) rose from 44,573 kilograms in 2023 to 77,406 kilograms in 2024.
So, no doubt Australia will be seeing an influx of products packaged in 10g lots.
But there are many more rules surrounding importing cannabis legally into Australia, particularly medical cannabis. A good place to start research is the Therapeutic Goods Adminstration (TGA) website.
As for importing cannabis seed for sowing, all importers require an import permit issued by DAF, which can be lodged through BICON.
The cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes is only permitted in Australia under the Commonwealth Narcotic Drugs Act 1967; which does not support the cultivation of medicinal cannabis for personal use. The cultivation and production of industrial hemp for non-medical purposes in Australia is regulated by state and territory governments. In Australia, industrial hemp is defined as cannabis with less than 1% THC. This is significantly higher than in some countries.
