May 22, 2025
Landlords who lease their premises to businesses selling illegal tobacco and vapes will face large fines – and possibly jail – under proposed State Government legislation.
Under the proposed laws, landlords who are complicit or turn a blind eye to illegal activity will face one year’s jail, a $161,300 fine, or both.
The Bill would also:
- Extend “interim” closure periods for non-compliant businesses from 72 hours to three months;
- Give lessors the right to terminate a lease if their tenant has triggered a closure order through illegal activity;
- Allow undercover operations to support Queensland Health’s covert investigations; and
- Include a new power to seize and destroy all legal smoking products that have been compromised by being sold alongside illicit tobacco and vapes.
Health Minister Tim Nicholls said illegal traders and their landlords were being put on notice.
The Tobacco and Other Smoking Products and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 follows “Operational Appaloosa”, Australia’s largest-ever seizure of illicit tobacco and vapes in a single operation led by a health authority in Australia.
“Despite all our recent progress, the illegal trade remains deeply entrenched,” Minister Nicholls said.
“This is because the profits simply outweigh risk of enforcement and the current laws limit enforcement responsiveness by being too onerous or relying on prosecution through the courts.
“These new laws, released for public consultation today, will help fix this.”
In March, Operation Appaloosa raided more than 30 locations and seized more than 76,000 vapes, 19 million illicit cigarettes and 3.6 tonnes of loose illicit tobacco with a combined estimated street value of $20.8 million.
On April 3, the nation’s toughest on-the-spot fines for the sale of illicit tobacco and vapes came into effect, leading to $5,094,560 in fines the first week alone.
Consultation on the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 will be open until June 20.
So these places have been operating in plain site for several years and now it’s suddenly the building owners’ fault?
What about the criminal organisations running these businesses? They get raided and within a couple of hours they are open and trading again with teenagers staffing them.
They accept nothing but cash, with an ATM in store. I bet they don’t declare much of a profit.
I agree with Andrew, I really don’t see it’s fair to hold the landlord to account for what these criminals are doing. They are clearly operating in plain sight and not even attempting to hide what it is they are doing. If a residential tenant decides to cook meth in their rental home it’s not the landlord’s responsibility so, why should it be for a commercial property?