Before ParliamentMoney & Tax Introduced in the House of Representatives, 12 Aug 2026

Fee for leaving Australia would rise from $70 to $80

Almost everyone who flies or sails out of Australia pays the passenger movement charge. It is built into the ticket price. This bill would add $10 to it. Tickets already bought get extra time at the old rate.

Official name: Passenger Movement Charge Amendment Bill 2026

Who it affects

• People travelling overseas: You would pay $10 more on each international departure from 1 January 2027, usually built into your ticket.
• People who booked early: If you bought your ticket before the law starts and leave by 30 June 2028, you keep the old $70 rate.
• Airlines and cruise companies: They collect the charge and get 18 months to change their systems to work it out by departure date.
• The Australian Border Force: This is the agency that runs Australia's borders. Its officers still collect the charge by hand for some private flights and boats.

A $70 fee on leaving

The passenger movement charge is a fee on people leaving Australia for another country. You pay it whether or not you plan to come back. It also applies to people going to platforms in the Greater Sunrise area, an offshore gas area in the Timor Sea.

Most people never see it as a separate bill. Airlines, shipping companies and charter operators usually collect it when they sell you a ticket. Charter operators are firms that hire out whole planes or boats. For some private flights and boats, an officer of the Australian Border Force collects it. That is the agency that runs Australia's borders.

The charge has been $70 a person. The government announced in the 2026 to 2027 Budget that it would rise. This bill makes that change.

The new $80 rate

The bill changes one number in the Passenger Movement Charge Act 1978. It replaces $70 with $80.

The new rate applies to people leaving Australia on or after 1 January 2027.

Say a family of four flies to Bali in February 2027 on tickets bought after the law starts. They would pay $320 in passenger movement charge, up from $280.

Grace period for old tickets

Some people buy tickets long before they travel. The bill protects them. You keep the $70 rate if three things are true. You leave on a ticket or similar pass. It was sold before the law starts. And you leave between 1 January 2027 and 30 June 2028.

From 1 July 2028, everyone pays $80, no matter when they bought the ticket.

A similar pass is called an equivalent authority. It is used in place of a ticket, for example on some chartered planes or ships.

Say you booked a cruise in 2025 that leaves in May 2028. You would still pay $70. If the same cruise left in August 2028, you would pay $80.

Why 18 months

The government is also changing when the charge is worked out. Carriers will work it out from the date you leave. Before, it was the date you bought your ticket.

At first the government planned to apply the new rate to tickets sold after the Budget announcement. After airlines and cruise lines had their say, it linked the date to the day the bill becomes law. This lets carriers watch the bill's progress and plan.

It also stretched the change-over period from six months to 18. Airline tickets are often sold up to 12 months ahead. Cruise tickets can be sold several years ahead.

Start date

If passed, the law would start the day after the Governor-General, the King's representative, signs it. The $80 rate would apply to departures from 1 January 2027.

Julian Hill is responsible for the bill. He is a junior minister for citizenship, customs and multicultural affairs. The bill was brought into the House of Representatives on 12 August 2026. It was sent to a second meeting room where MPs debate bills. It was debated there on 10 September 2026.

It is still before the House. It would need to pass the House and then the Senate, Parliament's second house.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum

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