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What happens if Border Force seizes CBD oil you ordered from overseas?

CBD is a prohibited import. Border authorities say parcels will be seized and the person may face prosecution. How often small orders are prosecuted is not published.

Facts checked 13 November 20262 min readHow we research

The parcel is seized, and the person who ordered it may face prosecution. CBD is a cannabinoid, and cannabinoids cannot be imported without both a licence and a permit, so an overseas order is a prohibited import even if the product is legal where it was sold.12

What have the authorities said?

  • Office of Drug Control, 2018: imports of CBD and hemp products “will be seized at the border”. People in Australia importing them “are also breaking State/Territory laws on supply and use of prescription medicines”.3
  • Australian Border Force, 2021: after “a marked increase” in interceptions of “hemp or CBD gummies, oils and skin care products”, it warned that items “will be seized at the border and they may face prosecution”.4

The scheme that lets people import some medicines for personal use does not help. The Therapeutic Goods Administration says cannabis products “are excluded from personal importation, other than through the traveller’s exemption”.2

What are the maximum penalties?

Law Offence Maximum penalty
Customs Act 1901, section 233(1)(b) Importing prohibited imports 3 times the value of the goods or 1,000 penalty units, whichever is greater
Criminal Code, section 307.4 Importing a border controlled drug 2 years’ imprisonment or 400 penalty units
Criminal Code, section 307.3 Importing a border controlled drug (with a defence of no intent to sell) 10 years’ imprisonment or 2,000 penalty units

Sources: Customs Act and Criminal Code.56 The Criminal Code Regulations list cannabinoids from the cannabis plant as a border controlled drug.7 A Commonwealth penalty unit is $364 for conduct on or after 1 July 2026.8

These are maximums written into the law. We could not confirm which law is applied in practice to a small personal CBD order, or how often such cases are prosecuted rather than only seized. We found no official CBD seizure statistics.

Does it matter that it was “hemp” or “THC-free”?

No. A product described as hemp-derived or THC-free is still a cannabinoid product under the customs regulations.1 Hemp seed oil is treated differently, but extracts from parts of the plant other than the seed “are considered a drug”.9

Only as a traveller carrying your own medicine, prescribed by a doctor and dispensed by a pharmacist, up to 3 months’ supply.2 See can you bring CBD into Australia?

Read the full guide: importing CBD from overseas.

Footnotes

  1. Australian Government. Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956, regulation 5 and Schedule 4. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F1996B03651/latest/text ↩ ↩2

  2. Therapeutic Goods Administration. Medicinal cannabis importation and the traveller’s exemption, updated 29 January 2025. https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/explore-topic/medicinal-cannabis-hub/medicinal-cannabis-information-patients/medicinal-cannabis-importation-and-travellers-exemption ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Office of Drug Control. Consumer warning on CBD and hemp oil imports, 15 May 2018. https://www.odc.gov.au/node/1328 ↩

  4. Australian Border Force. Increase in seizures prompts warning, media release republished by Mirage News, 5 July 2021. https://www.miragenews.com/increase-in-seizures-prompts-warning-to-590129/ ↩

  5. Australian Government. Customs Act 1901, section 233. https://www.legislation.gov.au/C1901A00006/latest/text ↩

  6. Australian Government. Criminal Code Act 1995, Division 307. https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A04868/latest/text ↩

  7. Australian Government. Criminal Code Regulations 2019. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2019L00561/latest/text ↩

  8. Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Fines and penalties (value of a Commonwealth penalty unit). https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/asic-investigations-and-enforcement/fines-and-penalties/ ↩

  9. Office of Drug Control. Hemp products. https://www.odc.gov.au/node/1372 ↩

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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