Can you take tea into Australia?

Usually yes — but tea is not one category at the Australian Border, and the answer depends on what is in the box.

• Commercially packed black or green tea, unopened and clean, can generally be brought in without declaring it.
• Herbal and fruit infusions are treated separately and have their own conditions, including a 1kg limit per product.
• Anything containing seeds, fungi, animal products or unfamiliar plant material needs checking before you pack it.

Declaring costs you nothing. Failing to declare something restricted can mean a fine.

Rules checked: 17 September 2026. Always re-check before you fly.

Ordinary tea: the easy case

Australian Border Force lists commercially prepared black and green tea, including flavoured versions, among goods you can bring without declaring, provided the packaging is clean, new and unopened and shows no sign of contamination or insects. Australian Border Force: goods you don't need to declare

In plain terms: a sealed box of English Breakfast, Earl Grey or green tea from a supermarket or a shop like ours is the straightforward case. Leave it in its original wrapping and it is easy for an officer to identify.

Herbal tea: the case that needs checking

A "herbal tea" is a bag of dried plants, and the Department of Agriculture applies specific conditions: tea bags must be commercially prepared, packaged and labelled, loose material must be in clean new packaging, and there is a limit of 1kg for each product or blend. Products containing seeds, fungi, animal or microbial ingredients need further checks, and permitted-seed rules apply. Department of Agriculture: bringing or mailing goods to Australia

If you are carrying anything unusual — a blend with whole seeds, mushroom powder, dried flowers from a market stall, or a gift box you cannot read the ingredients of — look the ingredient up in the official BICON import conditions database before you pack, or leave it at home.

Before you pack: a two-minute check

Two 40g boxes is 80g, comfortably within personal quantities. What matters more is what is inside them.

At the airport

Fill in your Incoming Passenger Card honestly. If you have tea that falls outside the "no declaration needed" list, tick the food box and tell the officer. Declared goods may be inspected; if something does not meet the conditions it can be treated, exported at your cost, or thrown away. None of that carries a penalty. Not declaring does.

Keep the tea somewhere you can reach it without unpacking your whole case, and keep different blends separate and labelled.

Sensible teas to travel with

Simple, clearly labelled, single-ingredient packs make life easiest at the border: Twinings Pure Green Tea is listed as 100% green tea, and Twinings Pure Peppermint as 100% peppermint. Neither is a border approval in itself, but a one-line ingredient list is much easier to check than a 12-ingredient "wellness" blend.

For the flight itself, see can you take teabags on a plane, and for what to pack generally, the best tea to take travelling.

Common questions

Do I need to declare a sealed box of ordinary tea?
Commercially packed black and green tea is on the list of goods you can bring without declaring, as long as the packaging is clean, new and unopened. If in any doubt, declare it.

Can I take loose leaf tea?
Yes, in clean new packaging that identifies what it is. Decanting tea into an unlabelled tin makes it harder for an officer to assess.

What about a herbal gift box with several blends?
Check each blend's ingredients separately. One unusual ingredient in one sachet is enough to change the answer.

Does airport security clearance mean Australia will let it in?
No. Security controls what you can carry onto the plane. Biosecurity decides what can enter the country. They are separate checks.

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