Customs Legislation Amendment (False Trade Marks Infringement Notices) Bill 2026; Second Reading

Summary

Australia's border force will gain a faster way to stop counterfeit goods at the border. Currently, if customs officials find fake branded products being imported, they can only prosecute the importer in court — a slow and costly process. This change creates a new offence for importing counterfeit goods and lets the Australian Border Force issue on-the-spot infringement notices (similar to traffic fines) instead of going to court. The amendments affect the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905 and the Customs Regulation 2015, adding counterfeits to the list of violations that can be handled through infringement notices. This means importers caught with fake goods will face an immediate financial penalty rather than waiting for a prosecution, making it faster and cheaper to protect genuine brands from fraud.

What happens at this stage

The main debate on whether the chamber supports the broad purpose of the bill. Members speak to its overall merits and concerns rather than the fine print. The government outlines its policy intentions; the opposition and crossbench put their case. This is the stage that determines whether the bill proceeds at all.

Next: Consideration in Detail (House) or Committee of the Whole (Senate), where the bill is examined clause by clause