Cairns Airport

International Terminal Shopping

Passengers awaiting flights in the international departure lounge can relax in comfortable surrounds or look through the variety of different shops and restaurants.

Cairns Airport pricing policy guarantees that prices at the airport are comparable with those in the city.

Landside:

Newslink
Newsagent & Souvenirs

Airside:

Ampiji
Australian indigenous gifts & souvenirs

BeachCulture
Designer surf wear & accessories

Bico
Bico branded jewellery

F1RST Tax & Duty Free
Duty and tax free products

Galerie Tropical
Australian art & craft

International Currency Exchange
Currency Exchange

Newslink
Newsagent & Souvenirs

Produce of Australia/World of Chocolate
Australian produce & gourmet foods & chocolate to tempt everyone

Purely Merino
High quality fashion, including sheepskin and Merino wool products

Purely Australian
100% Australian made up-market fashion products

Sunglass Hut
The fashion destination of the latest styles in sunglasses. Latest looks from renowned brands such as Bvlgari, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Ray-Ban and Vogue.

 

Dining

Landside:

Lounge - Bar & Bistro

Airside (inside the Departure Lounge):

Sails - Bar, Coffee, Beverages & Pastries

Aussie Burger Bar - Fast food

Hanamatsuri - Japanese cuisine

Currency Services

Foreign currency exchange

International Terminal: Foreign currency exchange is located in both arrivals and departure areas.

 

ATM's

International Currency Exchange ATMs are located in arrivals and departure areas of the International Terminal.

Duty Free

Duty Free concession

The following duty-free concessions are available to travellers provided that they do not exceed the specified amounts.

Group 1 - general
A$900 worth of goods (A$450 for people under 18 and both air and sea crew members ) including gifts (given to you or intended for others), souvenirs, cameras, electronic equipment, leather goods, perfume concentrates, jewellery, watches and sporting equipment. Alcohol and tobacco products cannot be included in this concession.

These goods can be:

  • obtained overseas
  • purchased in Australia duty or tax free before departure
  • goods for which a tax refund has been approved through the Tourist Refund Scheme
  • purchased from an inwards duty free shop on arrival.

Group 2 - alcohol
2.25 litres of alcoholic beverages for each passenger aged 18 years or over.

Group 3 - tobacco
250 cigarettes, or 250 grams of cigars or tobacco products for each passenger aged 18 years or over. One opened packet containing 25 cigarettes or less is also allowed.

NOTE: However, if you exceed any of the concession limits set out above, Customs and Border Protection will charge you duty and tax on the entire importation or purchase within that group of items. You can pool your duty free concessions if you are a family travelling together. Family means husband and wife and, if any, a child who is, or children who are, under the age of 18 years.

Most personal items such as new clothing, footwear, and articles for personal hygiene and grooming (but not fur or perfume concentrates) may also be brought into Australia in accompanied baggage free from duty and/or tax.

If you have anything in excess of your duty free concession, declare the goods and provide proof of purchase to Customs and Border Protection for calculation of any duty and tax to be paid.

Failure to declare goods in excess of your concession could result in the application of penalties. If in doubt, contact a Customs and Border Protection officer or call 1300 363 263 (Australia only) for information.
If overseas, call +61 2 6275 6666 or email information [at] customs [dot] gov [dot] au

Payment of customs duty/taxes
Payment of customs duty and/or other taxes may be made in cash or by travellers cheque in Australian dollars or by personal cheque drawn on an Australian Bank or by Credit card (American Express, Mastercard, Visa or Bankcard) - only available at international airports or by electronic funds transfer (EFTPOS) from an Australian bank account only available at international airports.

Further information can be obtained from the Customs and Border Protection website

TRS (Tourist Refund Scheme)

Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS)

The TRS enables you to claim a refund, subject to certain conditions, of the goods and services tax (GST) and wine equalisation tax (WET) that you pay on goods you buy in Australia.
To claim a refund you must:

  • Spend $300 (GST inclusive) or more in the one store and get a single tax invoice
  • Buy goods no more than 30 days before departure
  • Wear or carry the goods on board the aircraft or ship and present them along with your original tax invoice, passport and international boarding pass to a Customs and Border Protection Officer at a TRS facility
  • Claims at airports are only available up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight.
  • Claims at seaports should be made no earlier than 4 hours and no later than 1 hour prior to the scheduled departure time of the vessel.

The refund only applies to goods you take with you as hand luggage or wear onto the aircraft or ship when you leave Australia. It does not apply to services or goods consumed or partly consumed in Australia, such as wine, chocolate or perfume. However, unlike other tourist shopping schemes, most of the goods, such as clothing and cameras, can be used in Australia before departure.

The TRS is open to all overseas visitors and Australian residents, except operating air and sea crew.

The GST refund is calculated by dividing the total amount of the purchase by 11. The WET refund is 14.5 percent of the price paid for wine. For example, if you buy goods for a GST-inclusive price of $660 you will receive a refund of $60. If the $660 is made up of a camera ($460) and wine ($200), you will receive a total refund of $89 (total GST refund of $60 plus $29 WET refund on the wine).

The way TRS works

The refund will be paid on goods totalling $300 (GST inclusive) or more, bought from the same store, no more than 30 days before you leave Australia.

You may purchase several lower-priced items from the one store, either at the one time or over several occasions within the 30-day period, provided the total purchase amounts to $300 (GST inclusive) or more. You will have to ask the retailer to consolidate these lower-priced purchases onto a single tax invoice. Be sure the retailer will do this before buying the goods.

You may buy goods from several stores, provided each store's tax invoice totals at least $300 (GST inclusive).

You can collect your refund through one of the following methods:

  • cheque
  • credit to an Australian bank account
  • payment to a credit card

Customs and Border Protectcion will aim to post cheque refunds within 15 business days. Bank and credit card refunds will be issued by Customs and Border Protection within 5 business days, however, payment will be subject to processing by your bank or card issuer.

What you need to do when buying goods

If you wish to claim a refund, you must get an original tax invoice from the store where you buy the goods. All stores registered for GST will be able to give you a tax invoice. A refund cannot be given without it.

A tax invoice prominently states the words 'tax invoice' and the Australian Business Number (ABN) of the retailer, the purchase price including the GST paid, a description of the goods, the name of the retailer and the date the purchase was made.

Tax invoices for purchases of $1000 or more must contain additional information, such as the name and address of the purchaser.

More information on tax invoices is available by contacting the Australian Taxation Office.

How you make a claim

You will need to present the following at the Customs and Border Protection TRS facility when you depart Australia:

  • your goods (to prove you are taking them out of the country)
  • the original tax invoice totalling $300 (GST inclusive) or more from the retailer (to provide information for Customs and Border Protection officers)
  • your passport
  • your international boarding pass or other proof of travel

You should note that it is a legal requirement that the person who purchases the goods must be the person who makes the claim for a refund of GST.

Claims at airports are available up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight. Claims at seaports should be made no earlier than 4 hours and no later than 1 hour prior to the scheduled departure time of the vessel.

TRS facility location

Claims can be made after you have passed through Customs and Border Protection and Immigration outward processing.

The TRS facilities are located past Customs and Border Protection and Immigration outwards processing at international airports at Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Cairns, Adelaide, Darwin and Gold Coast.

They are also available at cruise liner terminals at Circular Quay and Darling Harbour in Sydney and Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Fremantle and Hobart.

If you are leaving Australia from the above seaports or any other seaport you should contact Customs and Border Protection to find out if and where you can make a claim.

Goods that do not attract refunds under the TRS

The following goods are excluded from the TRS:

  • alcohol such as beer and spirits (you can buy wine and wine products under the TRS) and tobacco products (these goods can be purchased from duty-free shops)
  • GST-free goods-no refund can be claimed if no GST was paid
  • consumables wholly or partially consumed in Australia
  • goods which are prohibited on aircraft or ships for safety reasons. These include items such as gas cylinders, fireworks and aerosol sprays (all airlines provide information to passengers on prohibited items)
  • goods which fail to meet airline cabin-size or ship hand luggage restrictions
  • unaccompanied goods (including freighted or posted goods)
  • services such as accommodation, tours and car rental and labour charges
  • goods purchased over the Internet and imported into Australia

Please note: You will not receive a refund unless Customs and Border Protection is able to verify that you are taking the goods with you. The goods must be taken on board the aircraft or ship on which you are travelling. You therefore need to include the goods in your hand luggage or wear them onto the aircraft or ship.

How long it will take you to make a claim

For passengers departing from international airports, the process will only take a few minutes. However, you should allow time to complete check-in and outwards clearance formalities and also allow for queues at the TRS facility.

Claims at airports are available up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight.

Claims at seaports should be made no earlier than 4 hours and no later than 1 hour prior to the scheduled departure time of the vessel.

Bringing the goods back into Australia

If the goods are to be brought back into Australia, please be aware that they may be subject to GST. Normal passenger concessions apply and include any items for which a TRS claim has been approved (excluding most personal items such as new clothing, footwear and articles for personal hygiene and grooming). If the value of those goods together with overseas purchases exceeds the passenger concession, the goods must be declared to Customs and Border Protection on your return to Australia. Penalties apply to undeclared taxable goods.

If in doubt you should declare the goods to Customs and Border Protection on your return.

More information is contained in the brochure 'Know Before You Go' which is available from Customs and Border Protection.

More Information

Further information can be obtained from Customs and Border Protection on:
Phone: Within Australia - 1300 363 263 for the cost of a local call
Outside Australia - 61 2 6275 6666
Internet: www.customs.gov.au
Email: information [at] customs [dot] gov [dot] au

Customs and Border Protection Complaints and Compliments
Phone: Within Australia - 1800 228 227 freecall
Outside Australia - 61 2 6275 6666
Email: comments [at] customs [dot] gov [dot] au

For general tax reform enquires contact the Australian Taxation Office on
Phone: 13 61 40 for the cost of a local call
Internet: www.taxreform.ato.gov.au

If you do not speak English and need help, phone the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 13 14 50. A TTY (teletypewriter) service is available by contacting 1300 130 478.