To ensure the safety of all travellers, certain items cannot be carried beyond the security screening point or onboard an aircraft because they present a security risk.
These items include weapons anditems specifiedas prohibited items. There are also restrictions on items specified as dangerous goods. If you are carryinganitem on you, orin your carry-on baggage, and that item is not permitted onboard an aircraft, you will need to surrender the item at the screening point. Surrendered items are dealt with in accordance with the relevant state and territory legislation.
If in doubt about whether an item can be carried onboard an aircraft, check with your airline prior to arriving at the airport. In some cases, you may be able to pack the item in your checked baggage.
For further information, see the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004, the Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005 and the Aviation Transport Security (Prohibited Items) Instrument 2022 at the Federal Register of Legislation website.
Prohibited items
The following list sets out some examples of the types ofitems that are not allowedonboard an aircraft or beyond the security screening checkpoint. Items that are a replica or imitations of these items are also prohibited.
Sporting goods, kitchen utensils, tools, and other items with sharp edges or points capable of injuring a person
- axes, hatchets or similar
- box cutters
- crampons
- darts
- drills
- ice axes and ice picks
- ice skates
- knives, including leather working knives
- knife-like items (whether or not made of metal) strong enough to be used as a weapon
- meat cleavers
- metal cutlery
- open/straight razors
- rock climbing equipment such as pitons, hooks, hammers and bolts
- saws
- scalpels
- screwdrivers, crowbars, hammers, pliers and wrenches
- ski poles
- utility knives.
Sharp items that are not weapons but are capable (with or without modification) of causing harm by penetration
- letter openers
- bodkins
- pointed metal scissors, manicure scissors and scissors with blades more than 6cm long
- razor blades
- hypodermic needles (whether or not attached to syringes) without proof that they aremedically necessary for the person's use or the use of another person under the person's care.
Blunt items that are able to be used to bludgeon or threaten to bludgeon a person
- baseball, softball and cricket bats and any similar item used in sport
- billiard, pool or snooker cues
- hockey and lacrosse sticks and any similar item used in sport
- golf clubs
- pieces of wood, metal or any other materials big enough to threaten a person with.
Household flammable goods
- aerosol containers, including cans of spray paint
- petrol and any other flammable liquid
- fireworks
- toy caps.
Items capable of being used to restrain a person
- cable ties
- handcuffs.
Weapons
Firearms of any kind are not permitted to be carried on you or in your carry-on bag. A replica or an imitation of a weapon is also not permitted.
The following list provides some examples of items considered to be a weapon, and therefore not allowed beyond the screening point, or onboard an aircraft.
Parts and ammunition for firearms
- flares
- gun powders.
Sharp items designed to be used primarily to inflict injury
- daggers, flick-knives, star knives, shuriken throwing irons andstars
- harpoons
- sabres, swords and swordsticks and similar things
- spears.
Items designed to disable or incapacitate, or otherwise harm, a person or animal
- disabling and incapacitating chemicals, gases or sprays, such as mace, pepper or capsicum spray, tear gas, acid sprays and animal-repellent sprays
- stun guns
- anything capable of being used to administer an electric shock, such as cattle prods and Tasers.
Blunt items designed to inflict injury or to be used in self defence
- billy clubs andleather billies
- blackjacks
- martial arts equipment such as knuckle dusters, clubs, coshes, rice flails and nunchucks, kubatons andkubasaunts
- night sticks and batons.
Items capable (with or without modification) of discharging projectiles for the purpose of disabling or incapacitating a person or animal
- ballistic knives and similar devices designed to discharge a projectile by means of an explosive or other propellant or mechanism
- blow pipes
- cross‑bows
- spear guns
- hunting slings
- catapults
- slingshots
- bows and arrows.
Explosive or incendiary devices and flammable materials not ordinarily found around the home
- dynamite
- explosives (plastic or otherwise)
- blasting caps
- blow‑torches
- detonators, fuses and detonator cord
- explosive flares in any form
- grenades
- mines and other explosive military stores
- smoke cartridges.
Biotoxins and infectious substances
- preparations of anthrax spores.
Chemical toxins
- chemical warfare agents.
Dangerous goods
Dangerous goods are items or substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment when transported by air. The rules and regulations for handling and transporting dangerous goods in your carry-on or checked baggage are administered by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
Before you pack, visit CASA’s Can I pack that? website or app to check what items you can and cannot take in your carry-on and/or checked baggage.
Items that are not prohibited
The following list sets out examples of items that may be permitted beyond the security screening checkpoint or onboard an aircraft. Due to the number of items passing through security, it is not possible to list all permitted items.
Household and personal items
- plastic cutlery knife
- fork with square-ended or round-ended tines and a handle that is round-ended and non-detachable
- blunt-ended or round-ended scissors with blades less than 6cm long
- safety razor
- hypodermic needle where carried by a person who shows proof that it is medically necessary for the person’s use or the use of another person under the person’s care.
Flammable goods
- matches and lighters
- perfume
- lighter fluid
- alcohol
- an aerosol container for personal (including cosmetic) use or a medical application (such as an asthma inhaler).
The total volume of all liquid items must not exceed 5 litres. The volume of individual liquid items, other than alcohol or perfume, must not exceed 2 litres. The carriage of some of these items may also be regulated as dangerous goods.
If you are travelling internationally, or travelling domestically but departing from an international terminal, also see powder, liquid, aerosol and gel restrictions. There are also things to consider when bringingduty free items on board.
