Sydney departure tax 2026: 70 Australian dollars per person

The charge

Leaving Australia costs 70 Australian dollars a person in 2026. It is not a Sydney levy and not a hotel tax. It is federal, and the number sits in the Passenger Movement Charge Act 1978, which states that the rate of charge imposed by the Act in respect of the departure of a person from Australia is 70 dollars. The compilation published on the Federal Register of Legislation is the authority for that figure.

Where you actually pay it

You will rarely see it on its own line. Airlines and shipping operators collect the charge when the ticket is sold and pass it to the Commonwealth, so for most visitors it is folded into the taxes and fees component of an international fare out of Sydney rather than presented at the airport.

What a trip costs

Two adults flying out of Sydney carry 140 dollars of Passenger Movement Charge inside their fares. A family of four carries 280 dollars. On a two week trip where most other costs move with the season, this is one line fixed by statute rather than by an airline, which makes it easy to budget exactly.

What the Act does not settle is how each carrier displays the charge in a fare breakdown, so the amount may appear bundled with airport and security fees rather than shown separately.

Sources: legislation.gov.au.

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