It depends on where you are going. An Australian prescription does not make CBD legal in another country, and some countries treat any cannabis product as a serious drug offence. Check the rules for your destination, and for any country you pass through, before you pack it.
What does official advice say?
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) warns that some countries “have very strict rules regarding certain types of medications”, and it singles out narcotics and medicinal cannabis products. It advises travellers to check with the destination country’s embassy or the Smartraveller website, and to carry a doctor’s letter and their prescriptions.1
The Office of Drug Control, which licenses cannabis in Australia, says it cannot issue documents confirming a traveller’s authority to possess a medicine.2 No Australian agency can give you a certificate that another country must accept.
What should you check?
- The destination’s law on CBD. Ask the embassy or consulate in writing if you can.
- Transit stops. You are subject to the law of a country while you are in its airport.
- THC content. A lawful Australian CBD medicine can contain up to 2 per cent other cannabinoids, which can include a trace of THC. Products described as “CBD-dominant” contain more.3 A country that tolerates pure CBD may not tolerate that.
- The return trip. Coming back into Australia, the traveller’s exemption applies. See can you bring CBD into Australia?
We do not list country-by-country rules. They change, and we could not verify them from primary sources.
Do you need an export permit?
We could not confirm whether a person leaving Australia with their own prescribed CBD needs any permit. Ask your prescriber or pharmacist, or contact the Office of Drug Control, before you travel.
What about flying within Australia?
We found no airline or aviation authority source on carrying CBD on domestic flights, so we cannot state a rule. The consistent official advice for any travel with medicines is to carry the prescription and keep the medicine in its original labelled packaging. State rules on possessing Schedule 8 cannabis products differ, and NSW Health tells pharmacists to check with the destination state’s regulator.4
What if you cannot take it?
Talk to your prescriber well before you leave. Do not stop a prescribed medicine suddenly without advice. For people taking CBD for epilepsy, stopping suddenly carries a risk of seizures.5 See stopping CBD.
Read the full guide: travelling with CBD.
Footnotes
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Therapeutic Goods Administration. Leaving Australia with medicines and medical devices. https://www.tga.gov.au/products/travelling-medicines-and-medical-devices/leaving-australia ↩
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Office of Drug Control. Travellers’ information, updated 28 April 2026. https://www.odc.gov.au/node/1215 ↩
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Australian Government. Therapeutic Goods (Poisons Standard, October 2026) Instrument 2026. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01327/asmade/2026-09-30/text/original/pdf ↩
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NSW Health. Cannabis medicines: frequently asked questions. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/pharmaceutical/cannabismedicines/Pages/faqs.aspx ↩
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Epidiolex (cannabidiol) prescribing information, United States. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8bf27097-4870-43fb-94f0-f3d0871d1eec ↩
This page is general information, not medical or legal advice. Laws and evidence change; we show the date we last checked the facts at the top of every page. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
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