Australia will raise its passenger movement charge to $80 from 1 January 2027, adding $10 to the cost of leaving the country for Australians and tourists alike. The increase was introduced in the federal budget on Tuesday night and will apply to anyone departing after that date, even if they booked long before the change was announced.
The levy is paid by people leaving Australia by air or sea, except in special circumstances, and is usually built into international airfares at the point of sale. Travellers under 11, foreign military personnel, airline staff and some people who arrive in Australia unintentionally because of circumstances beyond their control are among those exempt, while others may receive a refund if their departure does not go ahead.
The new rate lifts the charge from $70 and will leave Australia’s departure tax among the highest in the world. In 1995, the passenger movement charge stood at $27. The government expects the higher fee to bring in an extra $755 million over five years.
The charge is the latest step in a tax first introduced under the Keating government and is an updated version of the departure tax brought in in 1978 to recoup the cost of passenger processing at Australia’s air and sea ports. Its steady climb has long made it a familiar line item for international travellers, but the timing of this increase matters because airlines are already facing rapidly rising aviation fuel costs.
That pressure is not new. Qantas and Virgin have previously warned that higher fuel bills are likely to be passed on to consumers, and the price of oil has climbed 60 per cent over the past year, including a 12 per cent jump in March after the war in the Middle East broke out. For passengers, that means the cost of getting out of Australia is rising from more than one direction at once.
For holidaymakers, the new exit fee adds another layer to the price of travel just as tourism operators in other regions are trying to lure visitors with fresh incentives, as seen in places from Lanzarote and the Canaries to Chongqing. For Australia, the immediate change is simpler: anyone leaving after 1 January 2027 will pay more, and the extra charge will be collected whether they fly or sail.
