The Australian Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS) refunds the GST on goods you take out of Australia. You need to spend AUD 300 or more, including GST, with one business, identified by its ABN; the purchases must fall within 60 days before you leave; and you claim in person at a TRS facility on departure, with the goods, your passport, your boarding pass and the original tax invoices.
The most it can return is the GST inside the price. Australian GST is 10%, so the GST inside a GST-inclusive receipt is 10 ÷ 110 of it, or 9.09%, not 10%. On a receipt of AUD 300 that is AUD 27.27. The VAT calculator does this division for any total.
The three tests: amount, business and timing
Amount. The total must be AUD 300 or more including GST. AUD 299.99 does not qualify, however close it is.
Business. The AUD 300 is counted per business ABN. The Australian Taxation Office says separate invoices from the same ABN that together reach AUD 300 qualify, so several smaller purchases from one store on different days can be added up. Purchases from different businesses cannot be combined; spend AUD 150 in each of two shops and neither reaches the threshold.
Timing. Each purchase must be made within 60 days before your departure. Counted back from a flight on 1 December 2026, the window opens around 2 October 2026; a purchase on 1 September is 91 days out and too early. Check how the boundary day is counted if you are close to it, and keep a margin rather than relying on the last day.
| Purchases, GST included | Same ABN? | Within 60 days? | Qualifies? |
|---|---|---|---|
| One invoice of AUD 320 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AUD 180 + AUD 140, two days apart | Yes, one store | Yes | Yes, AUD 320 combined |
| AUD 150 + AUD 150 | No, two stores | Yes | No |
| AUD 400, bought 75 days before the flight | Yes | No | No |
What actually comes back
The GST inside the receipt is the ceiling. On the qualifying AUD 320 above, that is 320 − 320 ÷ 1.10 = AUD 29.09. The scheme is run by the government at the border; check the ABF pages for how the refund is paid to you and whether anything is deducted, then put the figures into the tourist refund calculator to see the result as a share of what you spent.
| Receipt total, GST included | AUD 320.00 |
|---|---|
| Price before GST: 320 ÷ 1.10 | AUD 290.91 |
| GST inside: 320 − 290.91 | AUD 29.09 |
| Share of the receipt | 9.09%, the most the refund can be |
Taking 10% off the receipt would suggest AUD 32.00, which overstates the GST. The guide to removing VAT from a price explains why the division matters, and why a refund is often smaller than the tax covers the deductions other schemes apply.
Getting the invoices right at the till
The claim depends on the tax invoice, so check it before you leave the shop, while a mistake can still be fixed. It needs to show the business’s ABN, a description of the goods and the GST amount, and you need the original. For purchases of AUD 1,000 or more, the invoice must also identify you as the buyer, so give your name when you pay. Keep invoices from the same store together, because they are added up per ABN.
The ABF claim page sets out exactly what an acceptable invoice contains. Read it before a large purchase rather than at the airport. The documents to keep for refunds and customs guide covers the rest of the paperwork for the trip.
Claiming on departure
The claim is made in person at a TRS facility after passport control. Present the goods, your passport, your boarding pass and the original invoices. Goods generally have to be carried or worn on board as cabin baggage; if something is too large, or restricted by aviation security, and the airline makes you check it in, ask what to do before you hand it over. Unopened is the safe assumption for consumables such as wine, perfume or chocolate.
Claims close shortly before departure, at least 30 minutes before a flight and 60 minutes before a cruise, and queues and rejected claims happen. Arrive early, keep the goods and invoices in one bag, and do not build a tight connection around the claim. The ABF also offers a way to enter your claim details online before you reach the airport, which can shorten the time at the counter; you still present everything in person.
Planning purchases around the threshold
Because the AUD 300 is counted per business, where you buy matters as much as how much. Three AUD 120 purchases at three different shops return nothing; the same AUD 360 at one business qualifies. If you already plan to buy several items in the last weeks of a trip, it can be worth checking whether one retailer stocks them all, and keeping every invoice from that retailer in one place so they can be added together at the counter.
Do not stretch a purchase just to reach the line. Spending an extra AUD 60 to recover about AUD 27 leaves you worse off unless you wanted the extra item anyway.
If the goods come back to Australia
The refund assumes the goods leave Australia. If you later bring them back, they may need to be declared on arrival and GST may be payable again, so a TRS refund does not make an item tax-free for good. This matters for residents claiming on goods before an overseas trip: treat the outbound refund and the return journey as two separate questions, and check the ABF guidance before the return.
For how the scheme compares with others, read how tourist VAT refunds work. For the product side of a trip, the Australia field note lists the observed prices and links the authority pages.